Development of a Dual-beam Integrating Sphere Spectrophotometer for Measuring Absorption of Diffuse UV-VIS Radiation in Leaves and other Biological Samples

该奖项旨在表彰集成球体光谱仪的开发，该光谱仪将使测量树叶和其他生物样品在漫射光和部分漫射光照射下的光学特性成为可能。该仪器将在以下几个阶段进行开发：光学和电子设计、仪器组装、根据光谱标准和计算值测试和验证测量结果、创建用户界面以及对树叶和其他生物样品进行测试和演示测量。这种积分球分光光度计可以测量光谱中生物重要区域内样品的总反射率（漫反射加镜面反射）、透射率和吸收率：紫外- b （280-320 nm）、紫外- a （320-400 nm）、光合活性区域（400-700 nm）和远红近红外（700-1000 nm）。新仪器将大大提高现有仪器的测量能力，现有仪器只允许在样品直接照射时进行测量。漫射光和部分漫射光照射样品的辐射收支量化能力应该在各种学科中有广泛的应用，在这些学科中，关于辐射拦截和传输的信息是基本的，如生态学、植物生理学、光生物学、光合作用和全球气候变化研究。到达地球表面的阳光量是决定农作物、森林和自然生态系统生产力的最重要因素之一。阳光对人类和动物的健康也是必要的，但它也会造成伤害，比如晒伤。为了研究光对植物和动物的影响，有必要准确地测量它们的组织吸收的光的量。当光以光束的形式传播时，这种测量很容易做到，但当光线漫射时，就不可能做到了，比如在阴天的情况下。漫射光是地球上光环境的重要组成部分，它提高了生态系统的生产力，预计随着全球气候变化，它将增加。这项研究的目标是开发新的仪器，使测量植物或动物组织被漫射光照射时吸收的光量成为可能。该项目将支持研究生和本科生、高中教师和学生的培训；它还提供了一个机会，可以招募代表性不足的群体成员从事科学研究。

This award is for the development of an integrating sphere spectrometer that will make it possible to measure the optical properties of leaves and other biological samples irradiated with diffuse and partially diffuse light. The instrument will be developed in the following stages: design of optics and electronics, assembly of the instrument, testing and validating the measurements against spectral standards and calculated values, creating a user interface, and making test and demonstration measurements of leaves and other biological samples. This integrating sphere spectrophotometer will make it possible to measure total reflectance (diffuse plus specular), transmittance, and absorptance in samples within the biologically important regions of the spectrum: ultraviolet-B (280-320 nm), ultraviolet-A (320-400 nm), photosynthetically active region (400-700 nm), and far-red near infra-red (700-1000 nm). The new instrument will significantly advance the measurement capability over current instrumentation, which allows for measurements only when samples are irradiated with direct light. The ability to quantify the radiation budget of samples irradiated with diffuse and partially diffuse light should have wide-ranging applications in a variety of disciplines where information about radiation interception and transport are fundamental, such as ecology, plant physiology, photobiology, photosynthesis, and studies of global climate change. The amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface is one of the most important factors determining the productivity of crops, forests, and natural ecosystems. Sunlight is necessary for human and animal health as well, but it can also cause damage, as in the case of sunburn. In order to study the effects of light on plants and animals, it is necessary to accurately measure the amount of light that is absorbed by their tissues. This measurement is easy to make when light travels as a beam but is not possible to make when light is diffuse, as is the case on a cloudy day. Diffuse light represents a significant portion of the light environment on Earth, it enhances ecosystem productivity, and it is expected to increase with global climate change. The goal of this research is to develop new instrumentation that will make it possible to measure how much light is absorbed when plant or animal tissues are irradiated with diffuse light. The project will support the training of graduate and undergraduate students, high school teachers and students; and it presents an opportunity to recruit members of underrepresented groups to science.