Inqui r y I s sue
2
| 2014
7
fter years in the works, Ames Laboratory’s new
Sensitive Instrument Facility has taken shape and
is on track to open in 2015. The state-of-the-art
facility will be the new home of Ames Laboratory’s
existing scanning transmission electron microscope
and some new highly sensitive equipment, providing an
environment isolated from vibration, electro-magnetic and
other types of interference that can obscure atomic-scale
details from clear view.
Thephotoson thesepages showthebuilding frominception
on the architect’s drawing board through groundbreaking in
June and construction through summer until mid-November.
As this issue was being finalized, construction crews were
A
installing the aluminum lining on the instrument bays that
will shield the equipment from electro-magnetic interference
(as shown in photo F
below
).
As the building nears completion, work is also progressing
on obtaining several additional pieces of equipment, including
a focused ion-beam instrument, an aberration-corrected
scanning transmission electron microscope and a field-
emission electron scanning microscope. Ames Laboratory
administration has been working closely with Iowa State
University and the DOE to secure funding to purchase the
equipment, hopefully within a year’s time.
D
E
F
D.
A crane lifts precast roof panels into place
on Oct. 20. Much of the concrete used in
the building contains non-steel reinforcing
material to limit electro-magnetic interference.
E.
The exterior is enclosed, including windows,
and the sidewalk poured in this photo from Nov.
10. The sidewalk connects the building with the
existing Applied Sciences II building.
F.
Work
on the building’s interior was also progressing in
November, as shown in this photo of aluminum
plate being installed in one of the six instrument
bays. The aluminum lining creates an electro-
magnetic barrier.
