The National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Integrative Activities awarded a $186,765 Project Grant to the California State University, East Bay Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization, to acquire a desktop scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) instrument. This award, made through the Major Research Instrumentation and Chemistry Research Instrumentation programs (CFDA 47.083), will facilitate advanced materials and biological characterization research across diverse fields such as nanoscience, art conservation, molecular biosensing, environmental geochemistry, and sensory biology. The instrument will support the research of several professors at CSU East Bay, and enable research and educational activities for the university's diverse undergraduate and master's level student population in areas like semiconductor device characterization, microorganism analysis, and uranium adsorption onto mineral surfaces. The award aims to enhance research and education at all levels through this instrumentation.