STEM students in Chattanooga, home to the country’s first community-wide gigabit network, are experiencing biology and STEM like never before.

The interactive, high-resolution microscopy system enables researchers at USC to place live biological specimens under a Digital Cinema Microscope and capture ultra-high resolution (4k) movies of the microorganisms while simultaneously transmitting live, high-definition images from the microscope system to students in the STEM class. Under the guidance of the USC biologists STEM students can enhance their learning further by manipulating the microscope effectively at very low latency levels.

The project represents the first to integrate digital cinema, optical microscopy, aquatic microbiology, 4k flat panel displays and gigabit networks into an educational environment in a scalable fashion.

Students utilize Chattanooga's gigabit network to collaborate with other Hamilton County high schools and provide them access to a world-class high-definition 4K microscope, one of only two in the world.