We want to ask questions that haven't been asked before about the appearance of an object. Using a scanning probe microscope, researchers can record data on an atomic scale and produce an enlarged replica visible to the naked eye. More importantly, students who cannot see can hold and feel the object to understand its shape and proportions. Science is difficult for visually impaired students because so much of the work relies on vision. Microscopic images are viewed by eye, usually through a series of glass lenses.
More sophisticated microscopes use lasers to scan the image which is displayed on a computer screen.
The work is an effort to create educational models for the visually impaired. The team has extended its horizons beyond microscopic data. Co-investigator Veronica Burrows is a professor of engineering. She produces models of phase diagrams, commonly used in chemistry classes. Instead of scanning an existing object, Burrows generates the model from computer data.