Acquisition of Additional Counting Instruments for Radiochemical Research at Wayne State University

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With funding from this grant, the radiochemical facility at Wayne State University will purchase additional alpha spectrometry laboratory instrumentation to augment existing capability in environmental research. The facility has been operating at full capacity over the past two years, training students in frontier research and supporting researchers inside and outside of the University. Due to an increase in the number of research projects and increased demand for additional radioanalytical work by researchers within and outside the University, the need for this additional modern equipment has become apparent. In the near term, the new alpha spectrometer will be of immediate use to the principal investigator during his participation in the U.S.GEOTRACES North Atlantic campaign in late CY 2010. More generally, the acquisition of the additional 8-input alpha spectrometer will double the facility's counting capability to support teaching, training and service to students, postdoctoral associates and research collaborators. Broader Impact: Acquisition of the additional alpha spectrometer is expected to result in additional and improved training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in the geosciences, many of whom come from under-represented minority groups. The instruments will be used to train new a generation of radiochemists at a time when there is a national shortage of well-trained radiochemists.