Seeing is Believing

A new, state-of-the-art facility dedicated to the finest imaging of soft and biological materials is in the works at UC Santa Barbara. Aided by a $1.5 million grant from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation(link is external), scientists will come closer to visualizing molecular-level structures, such as cellular components and polymer assemblies, in their native environments. The work will allow insights into relationships and functions, enabled by three-dimensional, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (3D cryo-EM).

“We are launching a top-of-the-line facility at UC Santa Barbara from scratch,” said Songi Han(link is external), a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who is spearheading the project. “I’m excited.”

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Sample Preparation for Cellular Cryo-ET Award makes possible the acquisition of a Cryo-Focused Ion Beam (Cryo-FIB) Milling Instrument, a crucial piece of equipment for the soon-to-be UCSB Structural Biology cryo-Electron Microscopy (SB²EM) facility, to be located in the campus’s Chemistry Building. Combined with cryogenic fluorescence microscopy and sample preservation auxiliary equipment, the milling instrument will enable imaging of previously inaccessible samples and soft materials at increasing levels of spatial complexity.

“This is fantastic news,” said Pierre Wiltzius, dean of mathematical, life and physical sciences at UCSB. “Having the cryo-EM and the FIB will put us on a new growth curve.”

“We are extremely grateful for the support of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation,” said Tresa Pollock, interim dean of the College of Engineering and the Alcoa Distinguished Professor of Materials. “These major grants ensure that our faculty and students have access to the state-of-the-art facilities and equipment required to engineer solutions and to conduct leading-edge interdisciplinary research.”

Read full article in the The Current.