Southern Polytechnic State University recently received a $455,000 grant by the Air Force as part of the 2011 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program.

The grant was awarded to David Veazie, director of SPSU’s engineering education center, to buy a scanning electron microscope to analyze advanced engineering materials. The microscope will be used by SPSU and Clark Atlanta University research groups.

The Department of Defense awarded a total of $37.8 million to 83 schools nationwide. Georgia Tech was the only other Georgia institution to receive funding.