Campus News
Campus News
A CLOSER LOOK AMSR offers unparalleled access to cutting-edge equipment.
Students use the Ultramicrotome to cut very thin samples from epoxy-embedded (plastic) tissues or materials. The Transmission Electron Microscope allows them to visualize sub-microscopic particles such as bacteria and viruses.
By Dr. April Burch, Science Department Chair and Director of AMSR
Since opening in 2011, Berkshire School’s Advanced Math/Science Research (AMSR) lab has continued to be a tremendous resource for aspiring scholars interested in conducting real-world research in the biological, physical, and social sciences. This highlevel study has been supported by two new, state-of-the-art additions to our AMSR program. Three years ago, Berkshire acquired a JEOL JEM-1200EXII Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), which has enabled students to visualize everything from viruses to bacterial biofilms to carbon char residue produced from plastic pyrolysis. Without a doubt, the TEM has allowed students to obtain results needed for the School’s continued success in the Regeneron Science Talent Search competition, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. Notwithstanding, the utility of the TEM has been limited partly because of our inability to slice thin sections for detailed TEM study—until now. This year, Berkshire purchased a new Leica UC7 Ultramicrotome, which allows students in the science and AMSR programs to slice very thin sections for TEM. The Ultramicrotome has the ability to cut 50 nanometers (nm) thin samples, thin enough for the electrons in the TEM to actually transmit the sample to reveal inner, very complex detail. Many kinds of material may be sectioned, including but not limited to
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Berkshire Bulletin
BART senior William Schrade works alongside Dr. Burch on the Ultramicrotome in Berkshire’s AMSR lab.
tissues, plant matter, and samples for material science. This instrument uses glass and/or diamond knives to cut very thin samples from epoxy-embedded (plastic) tissues or materials. Berkshire is the only high school in the world to have this instrument. We encourage you to visit the AMSR lab to check out the Ultramicrotome (or “tiny knife,” as it is affectionately called by some students and faculty).
Students in the AMSR afternoon program are becoming “super users” of the Ultramicrotome. An engineer from the Leica company visited campus to provide us with a professional training session. Students learned how to master the alignment of the sample and knife— two key steps in successful sectioning of materials—and safe use of the knife as they are very easy to break during use if improperly aligned.
Incredibly, when Dr. Abigail LyttonJean (scientific director, Nanotechnology Materials Lab at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) learned about our AMSR program from our Leica representative, she graciously donated 20 glass knives and tissueembedded samples for us to train with over the winter. Through this valuable connection, students have been able to practice using the instrument without the fear of breaking our only knife. This winter was also special because Berkshire’s AMSR program has been “paying it forward.” Students from Berkshire Arts and Technology (BART) Charter Public School in nearby Adams, Mass., visited each week for a Winter Advanced Research Program. Every Wednesday, five BART students and Amy Wiles, a science teacher at BART, traveled to Berkshire to work alongside our AMSR afternoon program students as we mastered the art of tissue embedding and Ultramicrotome sectioning. All costs for participating BART students and transportation to and from our laboratory were covered by Berkshire School. This program is designed to provide BART students, who have a passion for science but limited access to technology, an opportunity to learn science and new techniques in Berkshire’s state-of-the-art AMSR lab. We were excited to share our resources, environment, and expertise with these young scholars.
Summer 2020
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