Interactive Graphics for Molecular Studies & Microscopy - Supplement for Collaboratory

Principal Investigator: Russell M. Taylor II
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health
Agency Number: 5-P41-RR02170-16

Abstract
The UNC Research Resource for Interactive Graphics for Molecular Studies & Microscopy has developed a synthetic environment (also called virtual reality) interface for scanning probe microscopes. We have demonstrated the ability to control such a microscope remotely, over a dedicated local-area network. The remote user can in real-time

• study data coming from the microscope as it scans,
• localize the scan area,
• probe specific points or paths on a sample for data, and
• use the microscope tip to modify the sample, recording topographic and force data.

Collaborative research with two groups in the UNC Department of Physics and Astronomy has produced a stream of results; collaborative research with chemists, biologists, and gene therapy researchers has explored application of this new technology in those disciplines. These explorations have been encouraging.

This supplementary proposal enlarges the scope of the 1996-2001 research plan to

• develop these beginnings into a full-fledged distributed nanoManipulator collaboration capability
• add a set of collaborative scientific experiments with chemists, biologists, and gene therapists
• perform a formal evaluation of the effectiveness of the collaborative technology, of its effects on the experimental process, and of its longer-term effects on the research process.

To achieve these new goals, we propose to enlarge the Resource's original proposed collaborations to include

• Key computer scientists from UNC's existing Collaboratory in our technology development efforts
• Use of in-place fiber optics networking on the campus as a testbed for use of the nanoManipulator over Internet 2
• Chemists, biologists, and gene therapists, doing distributed collaborative experiments
• Experienced social-scientists to perform the formal evaluations, a totally new component of our research program