News and Events

Join the Material 3D-Nanofabrication and Characterization Workshop

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 17:16:18 +0000

Join the Material 3D-Nanofabrication and Characterization Workshop Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/24/2022 - 11:16

The COSINC facility will host a two-day workshop and training session on Material 3D-Nanofabrication and Characterization on April 21 and 22. The workshop includes a tour of the Materials Instrumentation and Multimodal Imaging Core Facility (MIMIC).

Off

Traditional

White

The value of core facilities from a researcher’s perspective

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 23:12:31 +0000

The value of core facilities from a researcher’s perspective Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/18/2021 - 16:12

Rachel Leuthauser

Following the joint Materials Instrumentation and Multimodal Imaging Core (MIMIC) Facility and Colorado Shared Instrumentation in Nanofabrication and Characterization (COSINC) facility virtual webinar on Nov. 18, Associate Professor Wil Srubar shares the importance of having core facilities at public institutions.

The value of having access to state-of-the-art equipment and expert staff cannot be overstated when working towards groundbreaking research. The centralization at core facilities can be key to improving research efficiency.

The amount of research happening at the technology-based labs housed in the Research & Innovation Office is proof of that. There are 23 core facilities in all, including the Materials Instrumentation and Multimodel Imaging Core (MIMIC) facility.

Above: Wil Srubar
Header image: Renishaw InVia - Raman Microscope used in Combined Raman and Nanoindentation system.

The MIMIC facility contains equipment that allows researchers to view materials down to the submicron scale. Wil Srubar, one of the faculty members behind MIMIC – along with Principal Investigator Virginia Ferguson – emphasized the unique suite of characterization instruments at the facility.

“The high-resolution, 4D X-ray microscope and the coupled Raman-nanoindentation system are especially unique,” said Srubar, an associate professor of civil and architectural engineering and materials science. “Very few exist along the Front Range, so we are very lucky to have these exceptional resources right here at the ��.”

Srubar is just one of the faculty members using the equipment in the MIMIC facility. MIMIC is open to researchers in academic, industrial and individual fields.

“Core facilities like MIMIC enable instrument access to multiple researchers on campus,” Srubar said. “This is important because the instruments get much more usage if multiple faculty members, postdocs and student researchers have access to them. Shared facilities enable CU Boulder to maximize the resources on campus.”

Srubar and his colleagues have explored a number of projects using the instruments in the MIMIC facility. He said in one study published in Scientific Reports, a Nature publication, his team used the Raman-nanoindentation system to show that engineered microorganisms can tailor the nanomechanical properties of precipitated calcium carbonate.

In other words, Srubar was able to turn microbes into architects of tiny crystals by manipulating their genes. His team genetically programmed E. coli to create limestone particles. The Raman-nanoindentation system helped the team not only view the materials, but also deliver the mechanical and chemical characteristics of the material.

Inside the Hysitron TI 950 TriboIndenter used in the Combined Raman and Nanoindentation system.

Srubar’s research in the MIMIC facility has also focused on finding sustainable and durable construction methods to reduce ts carbon footprint.

“We have extensively used the 4D X-ray microscope to characterize the porosity of new conventional and alternative cement pasts,” Srubar said. “Porosity is an important parameter that affects the long-term durability of new concrete materials.”

Srubar’s hope is to decarbonize the construction industry by developing biomimetic and bioengineered materials that store carbon for millennia. He explained that currently, more than 11% of global carbon dioxide emissions are due to manufacturing building materials.

“We believe new material technologies, such as the ones we are studying in my lab and characterizing using instruments from the MIMIC facility, will accelerate the transformation of our building environment into massive carbon sinks,” Srubar said. “The MIMIC facility is enabling us to make groundbreaking advances toward that goal.”

Associate Professor Wil Srubar shares the importance of having core facilities at public institutions.

Off

Traditional

White

Tour the MIMIC facility

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 19:37:20 +0000

Tour the MIMIC facility Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/11/2021 - 12:37

View photos from inside the core facility as researchers, employees and students operate the state-of-the-art equipment, including the Zeiss Xradia 520 Versa 3D X-ray Microscope.

Off

Traditional

White

Meet MIMIC Director Adrian Gestos

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 21:15:35 +0000

Meet MIMIC Director Adrian Gestos Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/04/2021 - 15:15

Rachel Leuthauser

Adrian Gestos is the director of the Materials Instrumentation and Multimodal Imaging Core (MIMIC) Facility. Since joining the MIMIC team in October 2020, Gestos has been helping researchers solve problems with the facility’s state-of-the-art equipment, allowing scientists and engineers to characterize materials visually, mechanically and chemically, down to the submicron scale.

Gestos hails from Australia and received his PhD from the University of Wollongong. He sat down to share more about his background, what brought him to the �� and some of the impactful research projects happening in the MIMIC facility.

Tell us about your academic journey.

I always wanted to study science, so I completed my Bachelor of Chemistry at the University of Wollongong in Australia. After graduating, I was lucky enough to get a research assistant position with the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI). IPRI was a very multidisciplinary environment, and I was exposed to all sorts of research, including conduction polymers, polymers for drug release and thermoelectric cells – just to name a few. I enjoyed this position so much that I knew I had to pursue a PhD. For my PhD, I used the atomic force microscope a lot to look at mechanical properties of polymer nanofibers made from electrospinning. I stayed with the research group for seven years in total and received my PhD from the University of Wollongong in 2011.

What made you move from academia to managing instrument facilities?

My postdoc was in Geelong, in the southern part of Australia, where I was mostly doing atomic force microscopy and characterizing people’s materials. After some time there, I realized that the straight academia path was not for me.

I went back to the University of Wollongong, specifically the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), to run an instrument facility with research-grade fabrication equipment such as a roll-to-roll coater and inkjet printer built for custom materials. I spent my time there scaling up different technologies within that research group – taking things that people might produce a few cm² at a time, and using the roll-to-roll coater to make meters of it.

I ended up getting involved with AquaHydrex, an electrolysis startup, by scaling up their electrode production. We were doing medium-scale electrode production on the custom roll-to-roll coater that we had there. In 2018, I made the move to AquaHydrex Colorado and started doing more fundamental work like membrane development, returning to the science-side of the company’s work rather than manufacturing.

MIMIC Facility Instruments

What was it about working at the MIMIC facility caught your eye?

When I saw the MIMIC director position open up, I jumped on it. The startup world can be a little insular with the work you do behind closed doors. I was eager to work with a broad range of people again and contribute to something more open source. The great thing about core facilities is that professors sometimes get expensive equipment that ends up sitting in their lab or not getting used properly. Professors Virginia Ferguson and Wil Srubar have put in the effort to make sure that does not happen by creating the core facility. Also, I could see that CU Boulder was investing in their core facilities through the Financial Futures Program and by hiring Director of Core Facilities Claudius Mundoma. Joining MIMIC was also a return to my roots. I knew I would enjoy the job since I previously worked at instrumentation facility. Plus, the range of people and projects is always exciting.

Since I started at MIMIC in October 2020, I have worked on all sorts of different projects, with interesting people, from across the university. That includes work involving geology, mechanical engineering and biology disciplines, just to name a few. In my role, I come in during the ‘hard part’ of the project, when researchers need to overcome huge obstacles. We can use the equipment at the MIMIC facility to help them solve the problem with a fast turnaround.

What are some noteworthy projects happening at the MIMIC facility?

CT scan images showing the internal anatomy of an iguana. Credit: UCM 11735 Ctenosaura pectinata.

I love being a part of open-source projects that help the common good. One is the oMeso project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. CU Boulder researchers are scanning roughly 1,100 species of reptiles and amphibians from the CU Museum of Natural History. It is part of a huge project across the United States called oVert, in which hundreds of thousands of animals are being scanned. The 3D models will be available online.

Another project is work from one of Ferguson’s PhD students. Jennifer Coulombe is using MIMIC’s equipment for bone analysis. She has pushed the resolution limits with the X-ray microscope and has imaged tiny, five-micron pores in the bone where bone cells live.

Researchers have also used the equipment in MIMIC to study 3D printed composites, analyze the internal structure of concrete and to find defects in fix circuit boards. When the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) experiences some defects in their circuit board, for example, we can use MIMIC’s instruments to take a closer look at the wiring to locate the fracture.

Since joining the MIMIC team in October 2020, Gestos has been helping researchers solve problems with the facility’s state-of-the-art equipment, allowing scientists and engineers to characterize materials visually, mechanically and chemically, down to the submicron scale.

Off

Traditional

White

Webinar planned to showcase x-ray and electron microscopy facilities

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 14:31:39 +0000

Webinar planned to showcase x-ray and electron microscopy facilities Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/27/2021 - 08:31

The Materials Instrumentation and Multimodal Imaging Core (MIMIC) and the Colorado Shared Instrumentation in Nanofabrication and Characterization (COSINC) facility will host a joint virtual webinar from noon to 2 p.m. on Nov. 18 via Zoom.

Off

Traditional

White

Museum uses MIMIC equipment to scan reptiles and amphibians in incredible detail

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Museum uses MIMIC equipment to scan reptiles and amphibians in incredible detail Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/18/2020 - 00:00

Over three years, a team of museum staff and students at CU Boulder will collect high-tech 2D and 3D images of roughly 1,100 species of reptiles and amphibians housed in the museum’s collections.

Off

Traditional

White

$1 million imaging system opens world of research at college, across campus

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 06:00:00 +0000

$1 million imaging system opens world of research at college, across campus Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/19/2019 - 00:00

The new and unique high-resolution X-ray microtomography imaging system at MIMIC will enhance research, not only in engineering, but in the fields of archaeology, geology and medicine across campus and the Rocky Mountain region.

Off

Traditional

White