Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

The microscope as we know it today has become an indispensable tool across many fields of research. Since the first incarnations of the microscope began to see use in research in the mid 1600's, it has exponentially expanded the sphere of physical phenomena that can be inspected and measured, opening up a staggering number of new areas for researchers to explore and allowing them to better understand and quantify our world. Among these impacts was the discovery of micro-organisms vastly expanding our understanding of the mysteries behind everything from food spoilage to wine making to medicine and antibiotics. While it is hard to match this success, recent advancements in ultrahigh-speed cameras provides a similar opportunity for researchers to see and measure dynamic events at high resolutions never before possible. The requested ultrahigh-speed camera is capable of filming events in full HD at up to 20,000 frames per second; 150 times faster than conventional cameras. At standard definition (SD), the camera can film at an incredible 200,000 frames per second, over 1500 faster than conventional cameras, and able to capture up to 3 seconds of footage. These cameras have seen major advances in recent years thanks to steps forward in CPU and solid-state storage technologies, and can now capture highly detailed images at extreme speeds - they are truly a substantial step forward from what was available just 3 years ago in high speed videography. Further, an ultrahigh-speed camera is an extremely flexible piece of equipment which can be set-up appropriately for a very wide range of applications in only a few minutes allowing it to be shared effectively across a diverse group of researchers, thus maximizing utilization. This advanced capability will allow the PI and co-applicants to film and interact with highly dynamic events to gain an improved understanding of the physics driving important phenomena, from Dr. Wael El-Dakhakhni's investigation of blast and high-speed impact deformation of masonry, concrete and steels, to Dr. Chan Ching, Dr. Mohamed Hamed, and Dr. Ravi Selvaganapathy's' investigations into dynamics of fluids and heat transfer, to Dr. Philip Koshy and Dr. Stephen Veldhuis's applications in advanced manufacturing research aimed at improving understanding of manufacturing processes. In each case improvements in understanding drive fundamental research, promote highly engaged learning and provide data vital to supporting our interaction with our industrial and research partners.