Improvement of the Earth Science Curriculum and Undergraduate Research with X-Ray Diffraction

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The primary objectives of this project are to provide a hands-on research experience to undergraduates in the high-enrollment Introduction to Earth Science course and to foster more undergraduate research by engaging students in thought-provoking, modern, laboratory experiences in the sophomore, junior, and senior years. The department is doing this by introducing quantitative mineral identification into the undergraduate curriculum in a sequential manner, beginning with the high-enrollment Introduction to Earth Science course, progressing with increasing sophistication into the intermediate level, and culminating in the upper-level courses and independent research projects. The Introduction to Earth Science students are spending 3 weeks working on a project concerning swelling clays in the area soils and are generating data that can be forwarded to the regional agricultural affairs office. Students in the intermediate level course, Rocks and Minerals, are being provided with the theoretical background and lab experience pertaining to instrumental analysis and sample preparation. Students in this class apply their knowledge in a group project, working on a different set of materials each year, eventually writing a report for presentation. Lastly, students in the more advanced courses, including Mineralogy, Petrology, Petrography of Fine-Grained Sediments, Advanced Mineralogy and Crystallography, and Igneous Petrology, are able to engage in a variety of independent research projects. This department is adapting its programs by upgrading an old x-ray diffraction system, which is the most suitable and versatile instrument for conducting mineral identification analysis. The new laboratory experiences provide for both an overall improved undergraduate curriculum and a more intimate science experience for the introduction-level nonmajors, a need recently identified by the AAAS project on Liberal Education and the Sciences.