Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis - CEMAS

07/18/2025

MicroCT at CEMAS allows users to gain valuable insight from internal structures with 3D imaging.

Anthropology Assistant Professor Habiba Chirchir is using MicroCT to see bone density of different species of mammals, specifically looking to understand why humans and other close relatives now have light bodies compared to those in the fossil record. 🦴

Professor Habiba Chirchir uses CEMAS' Heliscan to get a closer look at mammal and primate bones

07/09/2025

CEMAS has two X-ray diffractometers, a Rigaku SmartLab and a Rigaku MiniFlex, that can help users determine the atomic and molecular structure of materials, particularly crystalline substances.

https://cemas.osu.edu/capabilities/x-ray-diffraction-xrd

06/13/2025

CEMAS has one of the largest concentrations of electron and ion beam analytical microscopy instruments in any North American institution. Instruments can view samples down to the subatomic level and deliver solutions to industries like medicine, advanced manufacturing, environmental science, energy harvesting and storage, and healthcare.

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06/05/2025

CEMAS is home to two dual beam Focused Ion Beam (FIB) microscopes 🔬 These instruments allow the preparation of samples from specific areas of a sample as well as nano-machining. Both have extremely high resolution down to 5nm and are equipped with capabilities for 3D reconstructions from serial sectioning. These kinds of cutting edge reconstruction tools are crucial for understanding the true 3D morphology of today's engineering materials.

Learn more about using CEMAS' FIBs:

Dual Beam Focused Ion Beam microscopes (DB-FIBs) are an indispensable tool in

04/23/2025

Attending the 2025 Characterization of Nuclear Materials Workshop next week? Our own David Williams will be giving the keynote presentation on the evolution of TEM techniques and their impact on nuclear materials!

Learn more here:

28/04/2025 - 29/04/2025 @ 9:00 am - 5:00 pm - Event Information: Join us for a two-day workshop at McMaster University, jointly hosted by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Idaho National Laboratory, and McMaster Nuclear Operations and Facilities. This workshop is designed to provide a comprehensive und...

04/21/2025

Happy 🔬 New research coming out of CEMAS discovered novel rotational deformation twinning mode in a refractory high entropy alloys from room temperature to 800℃ using detailed crystallographic analysis from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD).

The research was authored by Bryan Crossman and Michael Mills and the data was collected on the Quattro SEM and spherically re-indexed using OIM v9. Helios600 FIB to extract lamella from matrix-twin interface and Tecnai 30 TEM confirmed twinning modes from selected area diffraction patterns (SADPs).

This work was funded through the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Additionally, it was done in collaboration with the Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) by Oleg Senkov.

Read more: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359645425002186?dgcid=coauthor

03/13/2025

03/12/2025

Did your car get dirty this weekend in Columbus from the Texas dust event? Us too! The dust stirred up in Texas caused the rain to contain a large amount of particulate matter.

Daniel Veghte decided to take a look at these particles under one of CEMAS' scanning electron microscopes to observe size and composition of the dust particles. 🔬

Below, see a magnified image of a dust agglomerate and elemental EDS mapping of some mineral dust particles.

03/04/2025

One week left to get Early Bird Pricing for On the Scope 🔬 Learn the fundamentals of scanning electron microscopy operation on an expedited timeline, perfect for working professionals!

Learn more:

On The Scope – A Masterclass in Practical Scanning Electron Microscopy, is an online training program covering the fundamentals of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) operation, provided by The Ohio State University College of Engineering and Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis.

02/27/2025

As seen at CEMAS: A recent publication on nanoparticules for mRNA delivery to the nervous system published in Nature Materials. Cryo-EM for this work was conducted at CEMAS by our expert staff and faculty!

A lipid-nanoparticle-based formulation incorporating engineered lipids containing a blood–brain-barrier-crossing moiety effectively delivers mRNA to neurons and astrocytes following systemic administration in mice.

02/24/2025

Happy 🔬 Bryan Crossman took this image on our Titan 60-300 TEM! It shows a Al10-Nb20-Ta15-Ti30-V5-Zr20 refractory complex concentrated alloy (RCCA) exhibiting "inverted superalloy" microstructure with cuboidal BCC precipitates surrounded by a matrix consisting of B2 channels along cube edges. Atomic resolution HAADF STEM confirmed BCC and B2 structures and STEM EDS revealed B2 phase to be rich in Al and Zr while BCC phase was rich in Nb and Ta.

Read more about this work: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359645423003488?via%3Dihub

02/19/2025

On The Scope – A Masterclass in Practical Scanning Electron Microscopy, is an online training program covering the fundamentals of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) operation, provided by The Ohio State University College of Engineering and Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis.