Acquisition of an Electron Microprobe

该合同将提供购买电子微探头所需资金的一半，该探头将服务于莱斯大学地质和地球物理系的大量教职员工和学生，以及该大学和德克萨斯州休斯敦地区科学界的许多其他科学家和工程师。莱斯大学承诺提供另一半资金。这种电子探头将取代已有18年历史的电子探头，并将使许多过去的用户能够接触到最先进的仪器。电子探针将是矿物学、岩石学、地球化学、构造学及相关领域等地质领域研究的中心。具体研究领域的例子包括使用矿物磷灰石作为科罗拉多州和加利福尼亚州火山中流体演化的示踪剂，夏威夷火山岩的结晶条件，几个地理区域变质岩的变形条件和时间，加勒比海和印度洋碳酸盐台地沉积的蚀变。这台仪器的问世将极大地促进材料科学各方面的研究。

This award will provide half of the funds necessary for the acquisition of an electron microprobe which will serve a large number of faculty and students in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Rice University, as well as many other scientists and engineers at the university and in the Houston, Texas regional scientific community. Rice University is committed to supply the other half of the funding. This electron microprobe will replace an eighteen year old electron microprobe, and will enable many of the past users to have access to a state of the art instrument. The electron microprobe will be central to research in geologic areas such as mineralogy,petrology,geochemistry,tectonics, and related fields.Examples of specific research areas include the use of the mineral apatite as a tracer of fluid evolution in volcanics in Colorado and California, crystallization conditions of volcanic rocks in Hawaii,condition and timing of deformation of metamorphic rocks in several geographic areas,alteration of carbonate platform sediments in the Caribbean Sea and Indian Ocean. Researches in all aspects of material sciences will be greatly aided by the availability of this instrument.