The National Science Foundation (NSF) has granted the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) funds to purchase an atomic force microscope.

According to a press release from UAB, the grant, totaling $314,912, will provide the highly advanced microscope for research and education purposes.

“The microscope plays a vital role in student education in the fields of chemistry, materials science, biomedical science and biomedical engineering,” said Eugenia Kharlampieva, Ph.D., professor in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences.

She added, “Educational opportunities are available for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows on the campus and expand via outreach to local middle and high school students.”

The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950. Today, the NSF has an annual budget of $8.1 billion. Congress’ stated reasons for creating the NSF were “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense.”

“A high-caliber research environment is also vital to the regional economy in central Alabama through raising community awareness toward biomedical and soft-materials technologies,” said Richard A. Dluhy, Ph.D., chair of the UAB Department of Chemistry.

UAB asserts that its departments of “Chemistry, Medicine and Biomedical Engineering will benefit from the new microscope.”

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.