Acquisition of Nomarski Interference Contrast Prisms and Image Analysis System

这项合同将提供购买光学显微镜设备所需资金的三分之二，这些设备将存放在南方卫理公会大学地质科学系。该大学承诺提供收购所需的剩余资金。将获得的光学设备包括Nomarski微分干涉对比系统，该系统对于研究造岩矿物的微观结构特征特别有用，例如火山岩中的成分分带和溶蚀面。南卫理公会大学地质科学系的首席研究员、同事和学生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看到火山生长的记录。

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.