MRI: Acquisition of an X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer: QuantX EDXRF

分析材料的元素组成在整个自然科学中都很重要，在社会科学中也有广泛的应用。例如，对研究史前人类在全球范围内的运动感兴趣的研究人员分析石器的元素组成来确定石头的地质来源，这样他们就可以推断贸易模式，长途航行，甚至迁徙路线。夏威夷大学希洛分校的研究人员一直在研究波利尼西亚的经济和航海，方法是用一种叫做能量色散x射线荧光（EDXRF）的非破坏性技术分析石器的地质起源。然而，分析设备已经过时，需要更换以继续进行正在进行的项目。这项NSF拨款支持购买一台台式能量色散x射线荧光（EDXRF）光谱仪，用于快速和经济高效的实验室工作。研究人员还打算将EDXRF的应用扩展到其他研究项目，如基拉韦厄火山正在喷发的熔岩成分变化的快速跟踪（这可能标志着喷发性质的重要变化），以及住宅、农业和工业环境中土壤污染物的分析。EDXRF计划的扩展和延续将吸引代表性不足的学生参与科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学科的实践，特别是夏威夷原住民和太平洋岛民学生学习人类学、地质学和环境科学。它还将支持研究生研究、高中项目和众多专业合作者。在大洋环境中使用无损EDXRF分析吸引和激励后代社区成员从事科学领域的研究，并支持本科生出版和最终安置研究生课程的学生实习生。UH-Hilo的学生群体是全国最多样化的学生之一，30%的学生自认为是夏威夷原住民或其他太平洋岛民。非破坏性EDXRF为这些学生提供了确定他们的祖先如何与环境以及彼此之间相互作用的机会，同时为他们提供了材料科学的基本技能。对于考古部分，拟议的研究包括从史前居住遗址和采石场收集人工制品的样本，以阐明整个波利尼西亚的石头资源采购模式。这些方法将涉及希洛大学的实验室分析。继续研究整个波利尼西亚的岩石资源运动的复杂性质，将为解释资源不平等在海洋社会进化中的作用提供一个更好的框架。持续的努力将导致大洋交流和社会政治发展的更强有力的历时模式。将研究功能扩展到对基拉韦厄火山新形成的熔岩的快速分析，以及对土壤样本进行环境污染物的筛选，将有助于更好地了解夏威夷环境中的自然和人为环境危害，并有助于制定更好、更有效的干预方法。

Analyzing the elemental composition of materials is important throughout the natural sciences, and has a broad range of applications in the social sciences. For example, researchers who are interested in studying the prehistoric movement of people around the globe analyze the elemental composition of stone tools to determine the geological sources of the stones so that they may infer trade patterns, long-distance voyaging, and even migration routes. Researchers at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo have been studying Polynesian economies and voyaging by analyzing the geological origins of stone artifacts with a non-destructive technique called Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF). The analytical equipment, however, is obsolete and needs to be replaced to continue the ongoing project. This NSF grant supports the acquisition of a desktop Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer for rapid and cost-efficient laboratory work. Researchers also intend to expand the applications of EDXRF to other research programs, such as rapid-tracking of changes in the composition of lava from Kilauea Volcano's ongoing eruption (which could signal important changes in the nature of the eruption), and the analysis of contaminants in soils in residential, agricultural, and industrial settings. The expansion and continuation of the EDXRF program will engage under-represented students in the practice of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, especially Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander students studying anthropology, geology and environmental sciences. It will also support graduate research, high-school projects, and a multitude of professional collaborators. The use of non-destructive EDXRF analyses in Oceanic settings attracts and inspires members of descendant communities to engage in scientific fields of study, and supports undergraduate publication and eventual placement of student trainees in graduate programs. UH-Hilo's student body is one of the most diverse in the nation, and 30% of the students self-identify as Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders. Non-destructive EDXRF provides these students with the opportunity to determine how their ancestors interacted with their environment and with each other while providing them with fundamental skills in material sciences.For the archaeological component, the proposed research involves sampling of artifact collections from prehistoric residential sites and quarries to clarify stone resource procurement patterns throughout Polynesia. The approaches will involve lab analyses at UH Hilo. Continued examination of the complex nature of the movement of lithic resources throughout Polynesia will provide a better framework for interpreting the role of resource inequities in Oceanic social evolution. The sustained effort will lead to more robust diachronic models of Oceanic exchange and sociopolitical development. Expansion of research functions to the rapid analyses of newly formed lavas from Kilauea Volcano and to the screening of soil samples for environmental contaminants will both contribute to a better understanding of natural and man-made environmental hazards in the Hawaiian environment and help plan for better and more efficient intervention methods.