Welcome to Boston Electron Microscopy Center (BEMC)!

Introduction: The Boston Electron Microscopy Center (BEMC) is a multidisciplinary research and educational Shared Research Facility within the College of Science at Northeastern University. Currently, it maintains three electron microscopes including high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscope Hitachi S-4800 FE-SEM, high-resolution transmission electron microscope JEOL 2010F TEM and high-contrast JEOL JEM-1010 TEM as well as a biological sample preparation lab.

Mission: The BEMC supports educational, and research needs for students and faculty within Northeastern University community and provides electron microscopy-related services for external universities, institutes and industry.

History: The BEMC has had a long history of research and education in electron microscopy dating back to 1964 with the initiation of a series of summer short courses that emphasized biological preparation techniques as the central theme using the JEOL JEM-1010 TEM acquired by the Biology Department. In 2004 the Hitachi S-4800 FE-SEM was acquired under an NSF Instrumentation grant spearheaded by Professors Srinivas Sridhar and Don Heiman. Professor Meni Wanunu led the acquisition of the JEOL 2010F TEM.

The BEMC was operated by the Electronic Materials Research Institute and recently the Nanomedicine Innovation Center both directed by Professor Srinivas Sridhar. The facility was recognized as one of the mid-range resources by the National Academy of Science report on Shared Instrument Facilities. It also served as a Physico-Chemical Nanocharacterization Core Facility for the NIH funded Cancer Nanotechnology Center. Over the years, the BEMC has supported 30+ faculty, 200+ post-docs and students, and 15+ external companies, hospitals, universities and government laboratories.

Northeastern’s BEMC welcomes classes, research groups and public for arranged demonstrations and lab tours. SEM and TEM training is available for small groups or individual users on an as needed basis.