Mission & History

Mission Statement

The Center for Microscopy and Imaging (CMI) at Smith College is a core facility within the Clark Science Center.  Our mission is to enhance the teaching, training and research endeavors of the College’s students, staff and faculty.

The CMI maintains and provides access to multiple light and electron microscopes as well as support equipment and facilities.  We provide training and access and offer consul on experimental design, data acquisition and data analysis.

When possible, we organize and participate in community outreach and provide access and collaboration to visiting researchers.

Professor Esther Carpenter and a Smith College student working on Smith's first Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Esther Carpenter was a zoology professor at Smith College from 1933 until her retirement in 1968. The TEM, a Philips, arrived at Smith College in 1966. Professor Esther Carpenter and a Smith College student working on Smith’s first Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Esther Carpenter was a zoology professor at Smith College from 1933 until her retirement in 1968. The TEM, a Philips, arrived at Smith College in 1966.

Equipment History

1966Arrival of first Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) - Philips 200
1982Replacement of Philips 200 TEM with a JEOL JEM-100CXII TEM
1985Arrival of first Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) - JEOL 25
1990Replacement of JEOL 25 SEM with a JEOL JSM 6400 SEM
1997Arrival of first Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope (LSCM) - Leica DM IRBE
2001Arrival of first research-grade Light Microscope (LM) - Olympus BX51
2008Replacement of Leica DM IRBE LSCM with a Leica TCS SP5 LSCM
2010Replacement of JEOL JSM 6400 SEM with a FEI Quanta 450 SEM
2012Arrival of second research-grade Light Microscope (LM) - Nikon Eclipse Ti-S
2015Arrival of first Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscope (TIRFM) - Nikon Eclipse Ti-E
2017Replacement of Olympus BX51 LM with a Zeiss Axio Imager M2 Light Microscope (LM)
2019Replacement of JEOL JEM-100CXII TEM with a JEOL JEM-1400 Flash TEM
2021Arrival of first Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscope (LSFM) – Bruker Luxendo MuVi-SPIM