A casual opportunity immediately following the Millennium Café to learn about the breadth of analytical capabilities within the Materials Characterization Laboratory (MCL). These brief (30 minute) multi-technique and interdisciplinary talks will highlight applications (not theory) to provide useful insights to novice and experienced researchers working across various science and engineering challenges.
Biological materials are ~80 percent water and many materials are designed for use under aqueous and/or hydrated conditions. However, imaging /analyses of these systems are often performed after dehydration or freezing which can significantly alter the chemistry/structure from the native hydrated state. This talk will highlight several techniques available at Penn State that enable sample analysis in aqueous and/or controlled humidity environments with an emphasis on the additional information that can be obtained via these approaches.