The W. M. Keck Electron Microscope Facility provides resources for SEM/TEM imaging, high resolution TEM imaging of surfaces, and spatially resolved composition mapping and analysis. The facility encompasses eight rooms of the Conte Polymer Science building that are specifically designed for vibrational stability and electromagnetic field shielding. There are five electron microscope rooms, a dark room, a computer and data analysis room, and a sample preparation room. Major instrumentation of the laboratory includes a 300 kV transmission electron microscope (TEM)/ scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) with electron energy loss imaging filter and an ultra thin window, light element energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). This instrument and a 200kV TEM/STEM with light element EDS are particularly useful for high resolution imaging, electron diffraction and spatially resolved composition analysis. An ultra high resolution Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope is capable of imaging surfaces to better than 50 Å, using a semi-in-lens close working distance configuration and light element EDS for spatially resolved composition analysis. Two additional SEMs and a 100 kV TEM are also part of the facility. A cryoultramicrotome, room temperature ultra-microtome, evaporator and ion beam sputter coater are available for sample preparation.

In addition to the materials-oriented microscopy facilities located in the Conte building, there is a SEM and electron microprobe facilty for materials that is supported at the Department of Geosciences (www.geo.umass.edu/probe/probe.html), and the Central Microscopy Facility in Morrill Science Center across the street from the Department of Chemistry. The NSF-supported Central Microscopy Facility (www.bio.umass.edu/microscopy/) is oriented toward biological and life sciences research. It contains a FEI/Philips Tecnai 12 TEM, a JEOL 100S TEM, and a JEOL JSM-5400 SEM, among other resources. The facility provides fluorescence, brightfield, and photomicroscopy capability, freezing-fracture, freeze-etch, and other low temperature techniques, and ultramicrotome equipment. A variety of image processing facilities are also available. These resources allow chemists interested in cell biology or biologically-related structure phenomena to carry out state-of-the-art investigations.