Acquisition of Nomarski Interference Contrast Prisms and Image Analysis System

该奖项将提供三分之二的资金用于购置光学显微镜设备，这些设备将安置在南卫理公会大学地质科学系。大学承诺提供收购所需的剩余资金。购买的光学设备包括诺玛斯基微分干涉对比系统，该系统在研究岩石形成矿物的微观结构特征（如火山岩的成分分带和溶蚀面）方面特别有用。南卫理公会大学地质科学系的首席研究员、同事和学生们从事火山生长的基础研究，并从熔岩晶体生长模式的微观细节中记录火山的生长。

This award will provide two-thirds of the funding needed to acquire optical microscopy equipment that will be housed in the Department of Geological Sciences at Southern Methodist University. The University is committed to providing the remaining funds necessary for the acquisition. The optical equipment to be acquired consists of a Nomarski differential interference contrast system which is particularly useful in the study of microscopic textural features of rock- forming minerals such as compositional zoning and dissolution surfaces in volcanic rocks. The Principal Investigator, colleagues, and students in the Department of Geological Sciences at Southern Methodist University are engaged in basic research on the growth of volcanos and the record of their growth as seen in the microscopic details of crystal growth patterns in lava.