Renovating and Expanding Research and Research Training Facilities in the Geosciences at Oberlin College

翻新和扩建欧柏林学院地球科学研究和研究培训设施

• 批准号: 0963379
• 负责人: Karla Parsons-Hubbard
• 金额: $ 88.59万
• 依托单位: Oberlin College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-01 至 2013-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0963379&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Renovating; Expanding; Research; Training; Facilities

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The award will provide funds to renovate and expand research and research training facilities in the geosciences at Oberlin College. The existing facility was built in 1908 as the college library and was renovated in 1989 to accommodate four faculty, based on a model where each person occupied a large room that served as both office and research laboratory. Additional shared spaces were outfitted: one for wet-chemistry, a small room with a single research microscope, and a darkroom. This project will separate the office and research space and unite all research into a centralized corridor housing six laboratories. The lab cluster will facilitate cross-disciplinary work among faculty and undergraduate researchers and efficient sharing of instrumentation and equipment. Examples of research that will be advanced through the renovation will include: 1) Determining pathways of decay in shell carbonate in marine sediments; 2) Analyzing reef cores to better understand the record of coral reef accretion and community structure in the past as context for the present crisis on coral reefs; 3) Reconstructing metamorphic histories of subduction-zone rocks; 4) Characterizing cements from 1.9Ga iron formations to gain insight into the composition and temperature of Precambrian oceans; 4) Revealing how deformation is accommodated at finer scales within larger structures along the San Andreas fault system; 5) Refining the history of asteroid impacts on Earth during Precambrian time by locating and tracing new stratigraphic layers of impact spherules and characterizing these layers geochemically and petrographically; and 6) Analyzing water quality and contaminant migration in the glacial deposits of northeast Ohio. Geology faculty and students develop a strong sense of community during field trips and in the classroom. Research activities in the present facility tend to isolate and separate research students and faculty because research space is highly fragmented. An updated and centralized research complex will enable faculty research to expand to new research areas not feasible in the current configuration, increase research efficiency, and will unite faculty and student researchers into a single facility that will foster interdisciplinary work. Given the high percentage of Oberlin geology graduates who go on to earn advanced degrees in the geosciences and careers in higher education, improved research training facilities will help strengthen the preparation of the next generation of geoscience educators and research scientists.

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。该奖项将提供资金，用于翻新和扩大奥柏林学院的地球科学研究和研究培训设施。现有的设施建于1908年，作为学院图书馆，并于1989年进行了翻新，以容纳四名教师，其基础是每个人都占据一个大房间，既是办公室又是研究实验室。额外的共享空间配备：一个用于湿化学，一个小房间，一个研究显微镜，和一个暗室。该项目将办公和研究空间分开，并将所有研究整合到一个包含六个实验室的集中走廊中。实验室集群将促进教师和本科生研究人员之间的跨学科工作，并有效地共享仪器和设备。通过改造将推进的研究实例包括：1)确定海洋沉积物中贝壳碳酸盐的衰变途径；2)分析珊瑚礁岩心，以更好地了解过去珊瑚礁增生和群落结构的记录，作为当前珊瑚礁危机的背景；3)重建俯冲带岩石的变质史；4)对1.9Ga铁地层的胶结物进行表征，以了解前寒武纪海洋的组成和温度；4)揭示了沿着圣安德烈亚斯断层系统的更大的构造如何在更细的尺度上调节变形；5)通过定位和示踪撞击球体的新地层，并对这些地层进行地球化学和岩石学表征，完善了前寒武纪小行星撞击地球的历史；6)分析俄亥俄州东北部冰川沉积物的水质和污染物迁移。地质学教师和学生在实地考察和课堂上培养了强烈的社区意识。由于研究空间高度分散，目前设施中的研究活动倾向于将研究学生和教师隔离开来。一个更新的和集中的研究综合体将使教师的研究扩展到新的研究领域，在目前的配置是不可行的，提高研究效率，并将教师和学生研究人员联合到一个单一的设施，将促进跨学科的工作。考虑到欧柏林大学地质学专业毕业生中有很高比例的人继续在地球科学领域获得高级学位，并在高等教育中从事职业，改善研究培训设施将有助于加强下一代地球科学教育工作者和研究科学家的准备工作。