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A Few Words about Structure Probe, Inc.


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Structure Probe, Inc. was founded in May, 1970 by Charles A. Garber, Ph. D., who was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the firm until 2007. Then, as is still today, the firm's goal was to create a high quality independent testing and analytical laboratory specializing in electron microscopy and surface analysis.

From the starting point of one scanning electron microscope and three employees, Dr. Garber directed the company's growth into four laboratory locations with more than 30 employees and thousands of dollars worth of electron optical equipment. And by the year 1985, Structure Probe, Inc. became the premier laboratory on the east coast of the United States, being retained by clients in industry, government and even to some degree, academia, as problem solvers in areas requiring microscopy in any of its various forms.

With the passing of time since 1985, fundamental changes in the market place have occurred, such as the movement of R&D laboratories from NJ, CT, and NY to the southern part of the USA, and also the acquisition of US based technical businesses by foreign companies who then move much of the technical work off shore. In addition, with the growth of inexpensive telecommunications and FAXes, and inexpensive overnight delivery services such as UPS, DHL, and FedEx the need for local laboratories close to clients was becoming less and less important.

Hence, in 1997 all analytical and consulting services performed by Structure Probe Inc. were consolidated into one location, the headquarters in West Chester, PA. As evidence of the wisdom of that consolidation, we are unaware of a single instance where a client has been lost because of a longer distance of separation. Most samples arrive over night by one of the courier services just mentioned exactly as they arrived when we had the multiple laboratory locations.

We feature state of the art equipment and facilities, and when an instrument might be more than a few years old, it is upgraded to the point that its performance is comparable to a newly purchased instrument. Our JEOL Model JSM-840 scanning electron microscope can provide high resolution 10X to 100,000X images of even nonconducting materials at low accelerating voltage. Our JEOL analytical STEM and TEM can provide high quality EDS data on modern Noran instrumentation and selected area electron diffraction analysis of 10nm microscopic features. Also, in house, are outstanding facilities for performing light microscopy, ultramicrotomy (room temperature and cryo), vacuum deposition, ion milling, and a variety of other techniques such as image analysis and images processing. Few independent laboratories can offer such a combined capability anywhere in the world today.

The Structure Probe, Inc. reputation as Specialists in Materials Research is due largely to a highly skilled and discipline-oriented technical staff. Our experts have been involved, for many years, in the fields of cosmetics, polymers and polymer coatings, chemistry, ceramics, metallurgy, microelectronics, biology and physics for our many clients in industry, government and academia. In recent years, an excellent biological and life science capability has been added. This has resulted in the developing of a base of clients in the pharmaceutical industry who need rapid turnaround on very large numbers of samples. The laboratory analytical services are performed under the direction and control of Andrew W. Blackwood, Ph. D and Charles A. Garber, Ph. D.

Dr. Garber has testified several times before committees of the United States Congress on subjects involving small technology-based firms including "Technical Innovation in Small Businesses". Most recently, testimony was given on July 18, 1996 before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business on the subject of unfair competition between nonprofit organizations with small business.

Dr. Garber also served as an elected delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business (1980 and 1986) and as a Presidential Appointee Alternate (but then elevated to full delegate status) to the White House Conference on Small Business in 1995.

In April 1990, Dr. Garber served as one of the ten members of the United States delegation to the "Tripartite Conference" in Budapest, Hungary, for the purpose of meeting with teams from both Hungary and the former Soviet Union to develop priorities for technical cooperation between the three countries. The purpose of the Conference was to develop recommendations for the last Summit Meeting between then President George Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachov of the then USSR. Dr. Garber's presentation dealt with the subject of starting a high technology oriented small business from scratch.


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