Center for Advanced Energy groundbreaking for Spectra Transmission Electron Microscope set July 16

This state-of-the-art piece of equipment will enhance the research capabilities and further promote collaboration at CAES. This microscope is one of the most significant additions to the CAES facility since it opened in 2009. Its placement in the Microscopy and Characterization Suite (MaCS) will complement the other cutting-edge equipment in MaCS and enhance its reputation as a world- class Nuclear Science User Facilities laboratory.

An overview of the project is available here; it consists of two phases, with the first starting July 20 and focused on modifications to the CAES facility to accommodate the sensitive equipment, which will be housed in what is currently the Analytical Instrumentation Laboratory. This initial phase is expected to last approximately three months and could impact CAES residents. The project’s second phase is scheduled to begin in November and calls for the installation of the TEM, which is expected to be operational in early 2021.

Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony include:

• Noel Bakhtian, CAES Director

• Marianne Walck, INL Deputy Lab Director for Science and Technology and Chief Research Officer who serves as Chair of the CAES Steering Committee

• Simon Pimblott, INL Nuclear Science and Technology Directorate Fellow and Chief Post-Irradiation Scientist for the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF)

• Dave Estrada, CAES Associate Director for Boise State University, which operates MaCS

• Harold Blackman, Boise State Interim Vice President of Research and Economic Development

• Gabriel Ilevbare, Manager of INL’s Materials Science and Engineering Department

• Mitchell Meyer, Director of the Characterization and Advanced PIE division at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex

Go here to stream the ceremony: https://www.bluejeans.com/215437198