FEI, Hillsboro, Ore., announces that Francisco Rangel has won its 2014 Image Contest grand prize for his “Expanded Vermiculite,” a hydrated magnesium-aluminum-iron silicate. Rangel, who currently works at the National Institute of Technology-INT/MCTI Characterization Center for Nanotechnology Materials and Catalysis (CENANO), won two round-trip tickets to either London or Washington D.C., a three-night hotel stay, a $300 travel stipend, and two tickets to see the IMAX movie, “Mysteries of the Unseen World.”
Rangel, who provides technical support to researchers from institutes and universities with projects in partnership with the INT, credits a research colleague, Marcelo Ferreira de Oliveira Leão, Ph.D., of the Polymeric Materials Laboratory (LAMAP), with encouraging him to submit the image.
John Williams, FEI’s vice president of strategic marketing, said, “We are pleased to award Francisco Rangel with the 2014 grand prize for his fantastic image, which won as the favorite among 320 images submitted. This contest was truly a demonstration of excellence in microscopy and creativity among our users. We look forward to seeing what the 2015 contest will bring.”
Rangel noted that CENANO utilizes three FEI microscopes: a Quanta™ 450 FEG scanning electron microscope (SEM), Inspect™ 50s SEM, and is currently in the process of installing a Tecnai™ transmission electron microscope (TEM). This combination of instruments makes it one of the most state-of-the-art labs in Rio de Janeiro.
About the image:
Vermiculite is a hydrated magnesium-aluminum-iron-silicate. It is a versatile mineral that is clean to handle, odorless, and mold-resistant. It is also sterile due to the high temperature to which it is subjected during production. The majority of applications call for vermiculite in its exfoliated form, achieved when the flakes are heated rapidly to 900 degrees Celsius or higher. In lightweight plaster and concrete, vermiculite provides good thermal insulation. Also, vermiculite can absorb liquids such as fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides, which can then be transported as free-flowing solids.
