The New Era of Aberration Corrected Electron Microscopy and Its Applications to Nanotechnology

Jingyue (Jimmy) Liu

Center for Nanoscience

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

University of Missouri-St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri 63121, USA

The electron microscope has evolved into a highly sophisticated and expensive instrument.  Atomic-level information is now routinely accessible by either the scanning or fixed-beam electron microscope.   For over 60 years, electron-optical aberrations have been the ultimate barrier for further improving the spatial resolution achievable in electron microscopes.  In the last 10 years, primarily due to the rapid advancement in computer technology and sophisticated electronics, aberration-correction in electron microscopes has made revolutionary progress.  Aberration correctors have significantly improved the performance of scanning and fixed beam electron microscopes (SEM, TEM and STEM).  Sub-angstrom resolution imaging is now not only possible but also is becoming routinely accessible by general users, especially those researchers in the field of nanotechnology.  The combination of sub-angstrom resolution imaging with atomic level electron energy loss spectroscopy, environmental chamber or sample holder, in situ sample treatment and testing, nanotopography and ultra-fast pulsed electron beam will make an advanced TEM/STEM the most powerful nanocharacterization instrument for nanoscience research.  In this presentation, I will discuss the recent progress of the aberration-corrected electron microscopes with a focus on scanning transmission electron microscopy and its applications to nanotechnology.

Simultaneously acquired high-angle annular dark-field (left) and bright-field STEM images of an alloy nanoparticle in a fuel cell catalyst. Each bright dot in the left image represents an individual atom or column of atoms.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Jingyue (Jimmy) Liu, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Nanoscience,

Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy

Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

University of Missouri-St. Louis

One University Boulevard                                   Phone: (314) 516-5345

EDUCATION:

Ph.D.  (1990) Condensed Matter Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.

    Advisor: Regent Professor John M. Cowley

B.Sc.  (1982) Materials Physics, Beijing University of Science & Technology, Beijing, China.

MAJOR AWARDS, HONORS & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:

2005    “Above and Beyond Award” for “significant technical breakthrough in developing and commercializing a Monsanto proprietary non-noble metal nanocatalyst”.  Monsanto Company

2004    Appointed as Senior Science Fellow of Monsanto Company for “extremely productive research contributions, superior scientific expertise and strategic leadership in broad technical areas, sustained high level of performance, and significant economic impact on Monsanto businesses”.  Monsanto Company

2002    Inducted to the Monsanto's Hall of Fame of Science and Technology for “significant contribution to development of industrial catalysts”.  Monsanto Company

2002    Prestigious Monsanto Edgar M. Queeny Award for advancing the science of industrial catalysis, significantly reducing the cost of manufacturing Monsanto products, and having had substantial economic impact on Monsanto; Citation: “discovery, development and commercialization of Monsanto’s proprietary bimetallic bifunctional catalyst technology for the production of glyphosate”.  The Edgar M. Queeny Award is the highest award that can be bestowed to an outstanding scientist of Monsanto.  (The new proprietary catalyst that I discovered has generated well above $1000,000,000 in net profit to Monsanto). Monsanto Company

2001    “Above and Beyond Award” for “extraordinary performance and significant breakthrough contributions to developing Monsanto Catalyst Technologies”, Monsanto Company

2001    Monsanto Excellence Award for significantly reducing the cost of manufacturing Monsanto products and for reducing the waste products in producing chemicals, Monsanto Company

2000    Appointed as Corporate Science Fellow of Monsanto Corporate Research for “sustained record of significant technical achievements of value to Monsanto, superior strategic technical leadership, and significant influence across Monsanto business units”.  Monsanto Company

2000    Outstanding Performance Award for significant contribution to achieving key Monsanto business goals, Office of Science & Technology, Monsanto Company

2000    Appreciation Award from Monsanto Marketing organization for applying advanced technologies to elucidate the unique properties of Monsanto products and for playing a critical role in a marketing advertisement.  The technology-based marketing initiative helped Monsanto gain an extra market value of well over $100,000,000 in one year. 

1999    Monsanto Excellence Award for discovering, developing, and commercializing a proprietary industrial catalyst that significantly reduces the amount of waste products in manufacturing Monsanto products, Monsanto Company

1999    Outstanding Performance Award (significant monetary award) for discovering and developing an industrially important catalyst for manufacturing Monsanto products, Monsanto Company

1998    Second Prize in Physical Sciences, 57^th Annual Meeting of the Microscopy Society of America, for outstanding contribution to the development of high-resolution secondary electron microscopy

1997    “Reach Award”, Monsanto Corporate Research; citation: “in recognition of outstanding contributions in developing novel SEM imaging technology and applying it in glyphosate research studies”

1996    “Reach Award”, Monsanto Corporate Research; citation: “in recognition of outstanding contributions to the successful commercial scale-up of the Monsanto new DEA/DSIDA catalyst”

1994    Young Scientist Award, 13th International Congress for Electron Microscopy, Paris, France, for developing high-resolution surface spectroscopy and microscopy techniques

1993    Scholarship Award, International Union of Crystallography

1990    Presidential Award, 12th International Congress for Electron Microscopy, Seattle, USA, for significant contribution to the development of atomic resolution high-angle annular dark-field electron microscopy and application of this technique to the study of quantum-well structures

1987    Dean's List of Outstanding Scholars, Arizona State University

1986    Dean's List of Outstanding Scholars, Arizona State University

POSITIONS HELD AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

2006-      Professor of Physics and Chemistry, Director of the Center for Nanoscience, University of Missouri-St. Louis (website: http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/artscience/nanoscience/)

2004-06  Senior Science Fellow and Senior Research Manager, Proteomics, Metabolomics, and Imaging, and Co-lead of Catalyst Discovery and Development, Chemical and Animal Ag Technology, Monsanto Company 

Responsible for managing a multidisciplinary group of scientists with diverse research background (Biochemistry, Biophysics, Plant Biology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Chemistry and Materials Science) to solve challenging biotechnology and biology problems.  Specific tasks included managing and evaluating research projects, acquiring funding and managing budget, forecasting future growth areas and related capital needs, championing new technology platforms, building effective teams, evaluating  performances, setting short- and long-term strategies, developing or acquiring emerging technologies that will significantly impact Monsanto existing or future businesses, and formulating strategic technical directions for Monsanto Technology Organization.  As a Senior Science Fellow, I initiated, championed and established new technology platforms that will have significant impact on the Monsanto R& D product pipelines.

2003-04  Senior Science Fellow and Research Manager, Proteomics, Metabolomics, and Subcellular Biology, and Co-lead of Catalyst Discovery and Development, Chemical and Animal Ag Technology, Monsanto Company

Responsible for managing a multidisciplinary group of scientists with a diverse research background (Chemistry, Biochemistry, Materials Science, Physics, Biotechnology and Genetics) to solve challenging biotechnology and chemistry problems.  Specific tasks included managing projects, acquiring funding and managing budget, allocating resources, forecasting prospects of future funding and growth fields, team building and performance evaluation, short- and long-term strategic planning, assessing emerging technologies and their potential impact on Monsanto existing and future businesses, and formulating strategic technical directions for cross-functional projects.  As a Senior Science Fellow, I initiated, championed, and established new technology platforms that have had significant impact on the Monsanto R& D product pipelines.

2000-03  Science Fellow and Group Leader, Catalysis and Microscopy, Science & Technology, Monsanto Company 

Responsible for leading a group of scientists developing and commercializing new catalysts that significantly reduced the cost of goods of Monsanto products.  Breakthrough in discovery and development of proprietary nanocatalysts and successful commercialization of these catalysts have resulted in significant cost savings and have substantially reduced waste products in Monsanto world-wide manufacturing plants.

1998-00  Senior Research Specialist and Group Leader, Materials Characterization, Monsanto Corporate Research, Monsanto Company

Responsible for managing a multidisciplinary group of analytical chemists, materials scientists, engineers and physicists to characterize a variety of Monsanto materials and chemical products. My research focus included nanophase materials and nanocatalysts, flexible electrochromic displays and devices, novel conducting polymers, and nanocomposites.  During this period, I also established several external collaborative research programs with universities.

1996-98  Senior Research Specialist and Group Leader, Materials Electron Microscopy and Surface Analysis, Monsanto Corporate Research, Monsanto Company

Responsible for managing the electron microscopy and surface analysis facilities as well as for establishing and managing external research programs.  I championed and invested well over $1M in purchasing new microscopes at Monsanto and secured sizable funding for external research collaborations.  My own research focus included oxidation catalysis, nanocomposite materials, metal-oxide nanomaterials for sensors, and novel polymers and polymer blends.

1994-96       Research Specialist and Group Leader, Materials Electron Microscopy, Monsanto Corporate Research, Monsanto Company

Responsible for managing the Monsanto Electron Microscopy Facility to support company-wide materials characterization; working closely with the Chemical Sciences Department, developed novel heterogeneous catalysts for manufacturing chemical intermediates and herbicides; worked with the New Materials Division to develop strategies of Nanotechnology for the Monsanto Chemical Business Units.

1992-94  Research Scientist, Center for Solid State Science, Arizona State University, AZ

Developed high spatial resolution Auger and secondary electron spectroscopy and microscopy techniques and applied these techniques to characterizing nanoparticles, quantum structures, and heterogeneous catalysts; acquired and managed funding from Shell Development Company for research on heterogeneous catalysis.

1990-92  Postdoctoral Research Associate with Regent Professor John M. Cowley and Professor John Venables, Center for Solid State Science, Arizona State University, AZ

Developed high spatial resolution Auger electron spectroscopy and microscopy techniques and applied these techniques to characterizing nanoscale materials and supported catalysts; developed and applied novel analytical techniques to understanding the synthesis-structure-performance relationships of industrial heterogeneous catalysts.

1985-90  Research Assistant with Galvin Professor John M. Cowley, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Arizona State University, AZ

Developed scanning transmission electron microscopy techniques and high-resolution secondary electron microscopy techniques; applied these advanced techniques to the study of surface structures, surface reactions, and nanoparticle systems.

OTHER POSITIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

95-06      Program Coordinator, Monsanto-Arizona State University Industrial Associate Research Program.  Supervised a Monsanto-sponsored postdoctoral research associate

99-06      Program Coordinator, Monsanto-University of Illinois (Chicago) Collaborative Research Program.  Supervised a Monsanto-sponsored postdoctoral research associate

01-06      Program Coordinator, Monsanto-Georgia Institute of Technology Research Program on Scanning Probe Microscopy of Nanostructures and Supported Nanoparticles

03-06      Program Coordinator, Monsanto-University of California-Davis Collaborative Research Program. Joint supervisor of a Monsanto-sponsored graduate student

02-06      Program Coordinator, Monsanto-Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Research Program on subcellular biology and confocal laser scanning microscopy

Services:

1992    Member, Program Committee, 23rd Intl Meeting of the Fine Particle Society

1993    Member, Organizing Committee, Scanning Microscopy International Meeting; Symposium Chair on “Secondary Electron Emission and Imaging”

1993    Member, Program Committee, 24th Intl Meeting of the Fine Particle Society; Symposium Chair on “Characterization of Nanoparticles and Catalysts”

96-06   Member of the Advisory Board, Industrial Associate Program, Arizona State University

05-06   Member of the Board, Monsanto Asian Community Network

2005-   Editorial Board Member, Journal of Nanomaterials

2006-   Editorial Board Member, Synthesis and Reactivity In Inorganic, Metal-Organic, and Nano-Metal Chemistry

2006-   Member of the Patent Committee of the University of Missouri System

2006-   Member of the Conflict of Interest Committee of the UM-St. Louis

2008-   Member of the Industry/Academic Advisory Board: Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

2008-   Member-At-Large of the Prairie Section of the American Physical Society

2008-   Member of Committee on Bylaws and Rules of the University of Missouri-St. Louis

Referee for:

Applied Physics Letter; J. Applied Physics; J. Catalysis; Catalysis Letter; Nano Letter; J. Electron Microscopy; Microscopy and Microanalysis; Surface Science; Ultramicroscopy; J. Nanomaterials; J. American Chemical Society, NSF Grant Proposals; Petroleum Research Fund; Lenard Wood Institute; Foundation for Research, Science and Technology of New Zealand, etc.

MEMBERSHIP IN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES:

        American Chemical Society   Microscopy Society of America

        American Physical Society   Materials Research Society

        North American Catalysis Society

PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS:

Over 170 publications in refereed journals, books, and extended conference proceedings

Over 120 invited presentations at national/international conferences and seminars at academic institutions

Over 60 presentations at Monsanto Fellow Symposiums and Technical Conferences

Numerous internal scientific and technological documentations

Commercialized patents and trade secrets

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Clusters, nanoparticles, and nanostructured catalysts; surface structure, surface chemical reactions, and heterogeneous catalysis; nanophase metal oxides, electrochromic displays, biosensors, and smart devices; conducting polymers, fibers, and nanocomposites; theory and application of advanced electron spectroscopy, diffraction, and imaging; confocal laser scanning microscopy; nanotechnology

Proteomics, metabolomics, and systems biology; herbicide and drug delivery; gene transformation, expression, and localization; subcellular ultrastructure of biological systems; nano array devices, gene/protein chips, DNA detection, and nanobioanalytics; nanobiotechnology