Research Resources
Collections | Computer Support | Libraries | Research Facilities
Collections
- Vascular Plant Herbarium The vascular plant herbarium is the second largest such Herbarium in the Arid SouthWest having over 210,000 mounted specimens, although substantial collections from throughout the Americas are included. The collections are particularly rich in the Cactaceae, Compositae and Myrtaceae. Its collection of Cataceae is one of the best in the World, particularly rich in cytological voucher specimens.
- ASU Lichen Herbarium The Lichen Herbarium has over 85,000 fully accessioned specimens and about 30,000 additional specimens being evaluated in the context of the Sonoran Desert Lichen Flora Project. Although the emphasis is on the western U.S. and Mexico, representation is worldwide in scope. Collections are particularly rich in the Lecanoraceae and Parmeliaceae.
- Plant Fossil Collection The Plant Fossil Collections include over 5,000 mega fossil specimens of worldwide representation, as well as fossil and extant palynomorph samples and extant wood and other anatomical specimens. Special emphasis in the collections is on the American West, including permineralized and petrified Tertiary materials.
- Insect Collection This collection contains over 2.5 million specimens from the southwest United States and from Mexico.
- The Life Sciences Living Collection has the only complete living collection of all eighteen sub-species of Arizona native rattlesnakes as well as desert tortoises, lizards, and other snakes.
- Vertebrate Collection This collection focuses on the Arizona and the southwest United States with an emphasis on species that are threatened or endangered.
Computer Support
- Life Sciences Graduate Student Computer Center Although many computer systems are located in individual laboratories, parts of these facilities are centered in a separate computer room primarily utilized by graduate students. In addition, the School manages a 24 station computer teaching laboratory. There is a University wide Ethernet based network through which a wide variety of application software is accessible. The University maintains an excellent network, which provides access to workstations (including those situated in a GIS laboratory), and provides Internet connections to the world.
- Life Sciences Computer Support Group The SOLS Computer Support Groups provides consultation on new computer purchases, network planning, data backup programs, upgrades and just about anything else related to computing in the Life Sciences. They frequently provide information about the latest developments in computing technology to the faculty, graduate students, and staff. They stay up to date with all current and emerging technologies to remain a good resource for computer-related decisions.
Libraries
- Noble Science and Engineering Library First opened in August 1983, Noble Science and Engineering Library is one of 7 ASU libraries. It has 3 floors and contains 98,000 square feet housing the collections for astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, geography, geology, industry standards, maps, mathematics, medicine, nursing, and physics. These collections include approximately 400,000 volumes, 1800 print journal subscriptions, 175,000 sheet maps, and 14,000 aerial photographs. In addition, thousands of electronic resources (journals, reference databases & indexing services) and the Internet are accessible via the 60+ in-house workstations or by personal laptops equipped with wireless modems.
Research Facilities
- Bioengineering Core Cell Culture Facility The core cell culture facility has been set up to contain all of the necessary equipment for mammalian cell culture. It also contains some basic equipment for microbial growth in the event that vectors are required for transfection. The facility occupies GWC 627, 627a, 627b, 627c and part of 631. Three separate areas have been defined. The main room is reserved for standard cell culture. It contains four 4 foot biosafety cabinets, two dual chamber CO2 incubators, two microgravity bioreactors, two Nikon light microscopes with digital imaging including Cohu cameras and one Nikon light microscope without imaging, two water baths, two centrifuges holding 15, 50 and 100 ml bottles, one locator cryostorage vessel, one glass front refrigerator, two manual freezers and one 180 degree freezer. The analytical and microbial areas contain a pH meter, a standard and analytical balance, a dual beam UV/Vis spectrophotometer, a microcentrifuge, a micro-ultra centrifuge with 8 ml and 2 ml tube capacity, a speed-vac unit, a sonicator with two difference tips, a thermocycler, a microbial incubator, a microbial shaking incubator and one 20-liter lyophilizer. The third area is the transfection room, which contains a 6-foot biosafety cabinet, a dual CO2 incubator and one water bath.
- Cell Biotechnology Laboratory This resource is available principally to students and faculty at Arizona State University. This laboratory was made possible by grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (in support of undergraduate research) and the Whitaker Foundation (Program Development Award). The laboratory's principal function is to create an environment to jointly train advanced undergraduate students and beginning graduate students from both the Life Science and Bioengineering Departments in a formal course setting where the students can learn the paradigms, vocabulary, and limitations of each discipline, as well as promoting team work. Students gain experience in mammalian cell culture, the growth of mouse embryonic stem cells, the use of microgravity bioreactors and microcapillary bioreactors, and a variety of other techniques in cell biology. This laboratory is in use year round by students.
- W.M. Keck Bioimaging Resource This facility, made possible by the W.M. Keck Foundation, contains state-of-the-art: 1) Scanning laser confocal microscopy; 2) Multi-photon confocal microscopy; 3) Scanning probe microscopy; 4) Ratio Imaging Microscopy; and 5) Video/time lapse Microscopy. In addition, this research core contains microinjection apparati capable of injecting single cells, a PhosphorImagerTM, protein and DNA computer modeling software, and several off-line analysis systems. This resource is available to users in academia and industry.
- Biological and Cryo Electron Microscopy This biological electron microscopy resource contains multiple electron microscopes and uniquely serves the Southwest in cryoelectron microscopy. The resource contains one of the few high pressure freezers in the Southwest used for ultra-rapid freezing, as well as other ultra-rapid freezing technologies including cold metal block freezers. A freeze fracture device (capable of deep-etching biological material) and ultracryotomes are also available to users in the University as well as in industry.
- Bioengineering Core Bioimaging Facility The BME core imaging facility in 730 ft2 of contiguous space houses an inverted microscope (Leica DM IRBE) with fluorescence, phase contrast, and modulation contrast capabilities and micropippetor/micromanipulator system. This scope has a color digital video camera (Optronics 750D) for fluorescence and bright field image acquisition and analysis. This facility has an upright research microscope (Leica Axioplan) with fluorescence, brightfield, and phase contrast capabilities with digital (Optronics Magnafire) and photo imaging capabilities (Leica photo system), as well as a computer for digital image processing. This facility has a stereomicroscope (Leica MZFLIII) with brightfield and fluorescence capabilities with a video port for digital imaging. There are also two student microscopes (Leica DME) and two dissecting stereo microscopes (Leica GZ6) for general use. Computer capabilities for the Bioengineering Core Imaging include two Gateway Select 1000 (1 GHz) Systems for online image capture and processing and two Gateway Select 850 Systems for offline image processing and analyses. All computers are connected to the university network server. This facility has a high-resolution color laser printer (Tektronix Phaser 850) for publication quality hard copies of digital images. The Core Bioengineering Facilities also house a goniometer with computer imaging capabilities (Rame-Hart, Inc., Mountain Lakes, NJ) for surface analysis by contact angle measurements.
- High Resolution Electron Microscopy Center The Center for High Resolution Electron Microscopy (CHREM) is a facility that operates a number of ultrahigh resolution and ultrahigh vacuum electron microscopes for external and internal user groups. It also maintains a vigorous program of microscopy methods and instrumentation development including holography, position and time resolved nanospectroscopy, both dynamic and static controlled-atmosphere TEM and energy filtered imaging and diffraction. Latest developments, including applications to interdisciplinary materials research and instrumentation, are communicated to the technical community during annual high resolution electron microscopy schools, at topical interdisciplinary research workshops, and at users meetings held at national technical meetings of societies, such as the Microscopy Society of America and the Materials Research Society.
- Life Sciences Visualization Laboratory The Life Sciences Visualization Laboratory offers services in design work, image scanning, photography, printing services, and slides. Researchers are welcome to stop by any time to submit projects. The Visualization Lab staff will be happy to discuss deadlines and offer quotes on turn-around times for individual jobs. The Visualization Lab also offers classes on topics such as Photoshop, HTML, and creating posters and slides.
- Darkroom Facilities A photographic suite is maintained to facilitate the generation of quality photographs and graphic aides. Facilities include both Polaroid copying and x-ray film processing. Computerized graphics and image acquiring capabilities are also available.
- DNA Laboratory Resource Fast automated DNA sequencing and oligonucleotide synthesis services offered to both university and private customers. The services are provided by molecular scientists with many years of experience in industry and academia. The sequencing facility uses an ABI Prism 377 DNA sequencer. The goal is to provide quality DNA sequencing and oligo synthesis services with a fast turn around time and at a non-profit price.
- Protein Chemistry Resource A common-use protein synthesis and analysis laboratory is on the sixth floor of the Goldwater building that has a variety of equipment available for the sequencing, separation, size determination and spectral characterization of proteins. The lab also has a peptide synthesizer to make peptides as needed by researchers. The equipment consists of Protein Sequencers, an Amino Acid Analyzer, a Peptide Synthesizer, a Laser Desorption Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer, Capillary Electrophoresis Equipment, HPLC, a Perfusion Chromatography System, Spectropolarimeters and a Spectrofluorometer.
- Analytical Laboratory Resource The core analytical facility has been designed to provide equipment for basic protein, DNA, and polymer characterization. It is located within the protein chemistry laboratory run by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The facility includes HPLC and FPLC capabilities, a dual beam UV/Vis spectophotometer, and a Raman spectroscope. It also includes 2 capillary electrophoresis systems, a microplate reader and washer with both UV and fluorescence capabilities, and a thermocycler. There is also a fully functional goneometer with video imaging capabilities. In addition to the core analytical facility equipment, the protein chemistry laboratory is capable of circular dichroism, peptide synthesis, peptide sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy and amino acid analysis.
- Environmental Laboratory Resource This resource is equipped for elemental analysis of various samples by atomic absorption spectroscopy and massspectrometry.
- Ultrafast Laser Facility The ultrafast femtosecond laser spectroscopy facility is located in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It provides a powerful tool to study photo-induced energy and electron transfer processes in chemical and biological systems. Two femtosecond transient spectrometers have been built since the establishment of the Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis at ASU in 1987. The first one was built in 1988 with instrumentation funds (from the NSF and DOE) in the ASU Chemistry/Physics laser facility. The system was replaced with a second ultrafast facility which was constructed in 1997 with a grant from the NSF. It provides users with a broader range of excitation and probe wavelengths, high resolution kinetics and high signal to noise ratios.
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility The ASU NMR Facility is comprised of two shared-use instrumentation laboratories operated by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The research oriented NMR laboratory is located in room C2 of the Bateman Physical Science building and houses three Varian superconducting fourier transform NMR spectrometers, an Inova 500, an Inova 400 and a Gemini 300. Seven high performance UNIX based graphics workstations (SUN and Silicon Graphics) are available for instrument control and data analysis. The workstations are equipped with a wide variety of NMR analysis, molecular modeling and distance geometry software. A variety of plotters, tape drives and disk devices are available for spectral output and storage. A Mattson FTIR spectrometer is also available for routine IR analysis.
- Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Facility A state-of-the-art EPR facility capable of providing structural information on an atomic scale in free radicals and paramagnetic metal centers. The laboratory is equipped with a Bruker 300E continuous wave spectrometer that operates over multiple microwave frequency ranges, as well as an electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) attachment. An electron spin echo (ESE) spectrometer is also available. Each of these instruments is capable of operation from room temperature to 4.2K analysis.
- Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry Facility- This facility utilizes the technique of Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDITOF) to study a broad range of biological and synthetic molecules. This facility is also home to a new technique: Impact Desolvation of Electrosprayed Microdroplets (IDEM) which may have some advantages for analysis of biomolecular mixtures, particularly DNA.
- X-Ray Diffraction Facility This facility provides for single crystal structure analysis using a Bruker SMART APEX, identification of materials, specialized powder diffraction, crystal orientation, and data base search/browse.
- Core Neural Engineering Laboratories The Bioengineering Department operates a core neural engineering instructional laboratory that is equipped for neurophysiology instructional experiments. The core neural engineering instructional laboratory also is equipped to deliver special instruction that is part of the department's IGERT that is focused on musculoskeletal and neural adaptations in form and function. The department also operates a specialized surgical research facility that is especially equipped for neural recording and stimulation. This surgical facility is described under the descriptions of the department's core surgical facilities. These facilities are available to all faculty and graduate students in the Bioengineering Department.
- Growth Chamber and Greenhouse Facilities The School of Life Sciences has a wide variety of facilities for maintaining organisms of various sizes. Culture transfer hoods, autoclaves, cold rooms and environmentally controlled growth chambers are available on each floor of the Life Science E Wing. Altogether there are 17 growth chambers and these are maintained under a variety of experimental conditions. Four glass greenhouses are maintained on campus and four greenhouses (three glass and one fiberglass) are maintained on the 47 acre ASU Horticultural Resources Center located 3 miles from campus. On campus the 3500 sq. ft. greenhouse on top of the Life Science E Wing includes several climate-controlled modules.
- The Desert Botanical Garden The garden, a privately run organization with an emphasis on the Sonoran Desert and ethnobotany of the Southwest, is situated on 60 hectares of Papago Park about two miles north of the University. It displays approximately 3500 desert plants from around the world and employs a staff of 50, including several professional botanists with interests in the ecology and systematics of Sonoran Desert plants and communities. It also has a vascular plant herbarium with approximately 33,000 specimens and maintains a botanical and horticultural library. Plant Biology interacts with the Garden in a number of ways.
- USDA Laboratories The U.S. Water Conservation and the U.S. Western Cotton Research Laboratory are adjacent facilities located approximately 4 miles west of the University near the Phoenix/Tempe border. These labs also maintain a large agricultural experimental field near Maricopa, Arizona (approximately 25 miles south of the University) where the FACE (free atmospheric CO2 experiments) project has been conducted in recent years under the direction of Bruce Kimball. Research staff includes experts in entomology, hydrology, modelling, plant biochemistry and physiology and micrometeorology-atmospheric physics.