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in new Zealand. She has been working on magnetic shape memory alloys as smart materials and for alternative energy. She has years of experience working on a variety of materials. Her research has been funded by NSF, the Air-Force Office of Scientific Research, NASA, CRDF Global, and industry. Her research projects also benefit society such as her NSF grants where nano-ceramics were used as photocatalysts for cleaning contaminants from water and air or for developing ferromagnetic alloys for alternative energy. She has used grants from HP and NSF to develop virtual laboratory to enhance student learning. She is also engaged in a number of outreach activities. A regular presenter in math and science events geared toward females and underrepresented groups of middle and high-school students, Dr. Ari-Gur regularly mentors students from the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center. She has strong ties and outreach programs with community colleges and hosts students from HBCUs in her lab.

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The scanning electron microscope (SEM) has evolved to become an indispensable tool for research and education in engineering, physics, nanotechnology, geosciences, materials science, biological sciences and other fields. However, training on a physical SEM is costly, time consuming, and often unavailable in economically disadvantaged areas. Advances in computer technology have made interactive three-dimensional (3D) virtual laboratory an effective tool for training in medicine and many engineering and technology fields. In the current work, in order to provide cost-effective hands-on training, a virtual 3D SEM was developed using the game development engine Unity 3D. It contains realistic 3D models of the physical components, created using 3ds Max ® , a software for 3D modeling and rendering. The components are manipulated with scripts programmed using C# and JavaScript and then paired with the corresponding model. Users may view and operate the virtual instrument, save images for further analysis, and write a report. The developed virtual SEM was tested on diverse groups of users at multiple institutions, each divided to treatment and control groups. Feedback from these tests was collected and used for improvements in the overall quality of the simulated experience. In addition, users reported the experience of training on the virtual SEM as enjoyable.