Where would we be without AFM Technicians and Lab Managers?
We have the good fortune at NuNano of engaging with a number of AFM Technicians and Lab Managers. We’re endlessly impressed by the number and scope of the projects they are working on, as well as their deep knowledge of AFM. This inspired us to want to bring the thoughts and opinions of these crucial members of any research team out of the lab and onto the blog…
We caught up with four of these AFM experts to find out more about these essential and often unsung roles – and we weren’t disappointed by their responses. Committed and with an ever-expanding knowledge base that crosses disciplines, AFM instrument types, techniques, and probe requirements, their answers reveal the depth and breadth of activities they are involved in. There’s a real respect for the science, an openness to share and continuously develop their knowledge, and an engagement in the world of AFM research that is bold and inspiring to hear.
Meet the AFM Experts…
Dr Ruben Millan-Solsona, Research Technician in Nanoscale bioelectrical characterization group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC),Spain
Dr Xinyue Chen, Henry Royce Institute Experimental Officer (Nanocharacterisation), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, UK
Anthony Woolson, Research Technician, Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University, USA
Dr Christina Newcomb, Scanning Probe Microscopy Lab Manager, nano@stanford, Stanford University, USA
What’s the best part of your job?
Ruben Millan-Solsona
Ruben: “Having the opportunity to work with excellent researchers and collaborate on different research projects. This allows me to learn and hone my skills, and through this learning, I can help users achieve their objectives.”
Xinyue: “Being in my current role as an Experimental Officer, one of the most thrilling aspects is the opportunity to actively disseminate the beauty of AFM technology to a much larger and diverse audience.”
“Certainly, the job stability inherent in a technical role is a significant benefit. It provides a sense of financial security and peace of mind, allowing me to dedicate my energies to honing technical skills without the stress due to career instability.”
Anthony: “The role presents unique challenges and learning possibilities. AFM is a young, but theoretically rich, technique where there is still lots of room to grow. This means that there are lots of opportunities to think about the physical and chemical processes involved from less-explored directions.”
Christina: “The best part of my role is how dynamic it is. One day I will be teaching middle school students about nanoscience, another day I may be writing grants for instrumentation and of course I educate and train users and work with them to make their experiment successful. It gives me the unique opportunity to work with many different people with all different backgrounds at all different points in their career, which is very rewarding.”
And the obvious next question – what’s the most challenging part of your job?
Ruben: “One of the most challenging aspects of being an AFM technician is when a user brings in a complicated sample.
Many times, for various reasons (such as a sample being too soft or poorly adhered to the surface), it's not possible to obtain a satisfactory image, and it's difficult to explain to users who often are unaware of the challenges associated with using an AFM and the need for preliminary work. Each sample has its ideal experimental conditions, and it's the technician's responsibility to find these conditions, which often comprise 50% of the work. Once these conditions are resolved, experiments proceed smoothly. This aspect of research is sometimes underestimated, but it's essential for progress.”
Xinyue: “One of the most significant challenges can be the lack of in-depth involvement in research and the limited career development possibilities.
Xinyue Chen
My personal feeling is, technicians, not only us working with AFM, are often seen as specialists in “niches”, mainly responsible for operating, maintaining, and performing basic troubleshooting for instruments. This stereotype limits career advancement opportunities as people perceive the job as restrictive.
While we may contribute to numerous research projects, our skills and knowledge are often underutilised because researchers either disregard our scientific input or relegate it to basic technical support, failing to acknowledge our substantial contributions.
I think improving the career development prospects and depth of involvement in research for AFM technicians could make the role more attractive to individuals like me, who are passionate about both the technology and scientific discovery.”
Anthony: “The richness and (relative) newness of the technique means that the resources required to understand some of the more niche modes are not as well-developed as they are for other techniques, and a technician must be very careful to keep track of the limit of their own knowledge and their own ability to translate knowledge to practice.”
Christina: “One challenging part of the position is finding a balance between the needs of all the users – AFM is incredibly interdisciplinary and has many capabilities. One example where this came up recently was selecting instrumentation to purchase – choosing what meets the needs of the shared facility, for the faculty across many departments, and users is not an easy task. Additionally, the position can also require a lot of my time, so being as supportive as possible but maintaining work-life balance is something I always keep in mind.”
What’s the most common AFM problem you have to solve? And the most frequent question you are asked about AFM?
Ruben: “Well, finding those ideal conditions also involves finding the ideal probe. As an AFM technician, I've had the opportunity to work with different tips, which often allows me to know the ideal probe. However, there are always some experiments that resist, and multiple probes need to be tested to find the ideal one. I must emphasize that in these cases, having a probe supplier with good technical support and advice greatly aids in the search for the ideal probe.
Regarding the most frequent question, I suppose it is: How long will it take to obtain the image? And how about analyzing the data?”
Xinyue: “AFM is a highly sensitive technique, but this means that there is no one-size-fits-all set of parameters and analytical method for AFM measurements.
As a researcher, I found nothing was readily available for my complex samples. As a result, I had to start from scratch, which involved instrumental development and customised coding for the analysis. Upon transitioning to my current position, the common challenge shifted to effectively conveying the inherent lack of robustness in AFM measurements and the substantial effort required to conduct a rigorous AFM measurement.
This directly relates to the most commonly asked question I encounter about AFM, which is, "What number should I put in for this parameter?" It takes time and effort to explain that AFM isn't a technique where a fixed set of parameters can be universally applied for all situations.”
Anthony Woolson
Anthony: “In my experience, the problems most often encountered are related to misapprehensions about the electromechanical limitations intrinsic to a given instrument. This is easily rectified, in my opinion, by cultivating a training and use environment where questions are welcome and a lack of certainty--when present--is not treated by either party as a source of shame but rather a learning opportunity for one or both.”
Christina: “Users who are learning AFM for the first time most frequently ask me to revisit how to adjust all of the settings for optimal imaging - gain, setpoint, etc and issues with image artifacts often come up. Occasionally laser alignment is an issue with older instruments, but with new instrumentation, this is getting better.”
What’s the most important skill or ability required for these roles?
Ruben: “Atomic Force Microscopy encompasses many different techniques with very different characteristics, which can be challenging. Therefore, an AFM technician should have the ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary environment. Over the years, I've learned that patience is one of the most important traits, both in life and in the lab, especially as an AFM technician.”
Xinyue: “I recommend a solid grounding in scientific and technical expertise, coupled with a fervent commitment to continuous learning. AFM stands out as an exceptionally potent and adaptable tool employed across a wide spectrum of scientific research and industries. You may find yourself assisting individuals from diverse fields with a multitude of AFM application modes, which diverges significantly from one's own research. Therefore, it’s essential to consolidate the relevant knowledge base. Of course, attributes like patience and effective communication skills are equally vital if you’d like to explore the role of AFM Technician.”
Christina Newcomb
Anthony: “A solid understanding of [classical] oscillator physics is extremely helpful (particularly driven, damped oscillators). This, when suitably understood, provides intuition for tuning feedback parameters and a nice "jumping-off" point for understanding modes based on a larger number of sample-tip interactions.”
Christina: “Adaptability is a key trait to most roles including those managing technical instrumentation. In an academic environment where we support a broad set of research interests and are working daily with many types of users (students, postdocs, and users from industry), being open to change and adapting to change is important. Being independent and willing to make changes to your processes to accommodate changes is also important.”
What project(s) are you involved in now that you find the most inspiring?
Ruben: “One of the most interesting of the projects I am currently working on is the PRiNGLE project (https://www.pringle-project.eu/), which, based on recent microbiology discoveries, aims to design a new class of protein materials with biocompatible electronic properties and integrate them into devices. The goal is to create a completely protein-based electronic technology that offers unparalleled biodegradable and biocompatible functionality.
We are also working on the next generation of atomic force microscopes by incorporating automation improvements and adding machine learning algorithms to make these instruments easier to use.”
Xinyue: “The utilisation of AFM for mechanical measurements is undoubtedly a source of inspiration for me. I have extensive experience of exploring the mechanical properties of complex, soft materials, such as nearly intact biological tissues. It's a challenging yet immensely rewarding endeavour to refine precise measurements. The outcomes can often be unexpectedly revealing, offering exciting prospects for progress in areas like regeneration and diagnostics. Simultaneously, mechanics serves as a foundational pillar supporting diverse AFM application modes, including electrical measurements. Therefore, it also enhances the understanding of other facets within the realm of AFM applications.”
Anthony: “I am fascinated by force spectroscopy and its realization in the AFM. I have enjoyed projects that explore materials from this direction.”
Christina: “The most recent project that has been exciting to work on is with the David Goldhaber-Gordon group where they use AFM to image moire and atomic lattice of 2D materials using torsional force microscopy.”
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading the views and insights offered by Reuben, Xinyue, Anthony and Christina, as much as we enjoyed gathering and collating them. Whilst this is the first time we’ve focused on showcasing the work of AFM Technicians and Lab Managers we certainly don’t expect it will be the last. If you are an AFM Technican/Lab Manager or know someone who is who might be interested in taking part in our next interview piece please do let us know by emailing community@nunano.com
We’d like to leave you with a final thought from Christina which echoes much of our thoughts and feelings at NuNano:
“Science does not happen in a vaccuum and it is my hope that we can develop a strong AFM community even among lab managers. Some of the AFM techniques require specialized expertise, electronics, and probes. Having resources and access to expertise to support science, even with the most challenging hardware, is something I hope our AFM community can work toward.”
We hope so too! #AFMCommunity #AFMTechnicians #AFMLabManagers #AFMHeroes
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