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

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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.