MRI: Stable isotope analyses in a liberal arts college setting: teaching and research opportunities for undergraduates and faculty

地质和生物材料的元素和稳定同位素分析是研究现代和古代气候和环境变化的基本工具。通过这项核磁共振奖，Bryn Mawr学院将获得仪器，使研究人员和教育工作者能够在气候和环境变化研究方面为本科生女性提供严谨和与社会相关的独立研究经验。该仪器还将通过为布林莫尔学院的教职员工和论文学生提供生成高分辨率碳同位素数据的能力，来促进教职员工的研究。收购拟议的仪器将允许对碳同位素数据进行更高分辨率、更低成本和更及时的分析，用于正在进行的研究项目，如：调查古代海洋条件的变化及其与大规模物种灭绝的关系，以及氮污染和温室气体浓度升高对潮汐湿地入侵物种和生态系统服务的影响。这最终将有助于培训一支更具科学素养的工作队伍，并将为有抱负的女科学家提供非常紧缺的分析技能。该仪器将通过提供内部分析能力，直接改善布林·莫尔学院本科生女性的研究机会。该仪器也将是布林莫尔学院拥有的两个STEM的暑期和学期规划中不可或缺的组成部分，每个STEM都是从波士顿城市公立学校招募的十名有抱负的科学家组成的不同小组。Bryn Mawr学院为当前STEM Posse制定的计划使教员能够发现并弥补STEM专业多样化方法中的弱点。因此，该仪器最终将有助于增加STEM毕业生的多样性。具体地说，该奖项资助Bryn Mawr College购买了Picarro双碳同位素分析仪，用于分析二氧化碳和甲烷的碳同位素组成，以及Costech元素燃烧系统。Picarro双碳同位素分析仪利用腔衰荡光谱(CRDS)来测量碳的稳定同位素。与大型研究机构运营的同位素比质谱仪(IRMS)相比，Picarro CRDS设备更便宜，更容易使用和维护。这一技术进步使得稳定同位素分析可以用于文科院校的教学和研究。由于文科大学生对将科学应用于社会问题的需求不断增加，迫切需要为这些学生提供执行用于研究气候和环境变化的分析的实际经验。拟议的仪器还将用于开发地质学和生物学课程入门、专业和高级课程的实验室练习。这些实验练习将发布在一个名为面向本科生的稳定同位素科学的网站上，其他教育工作者可以从该网站获取教学计划、视觉效果和班级分析结果。该网站将在拟议项目的生命周期后继续维护和更新。

Elemental and stable isotopic analyses of geological and biological materials are fundamental tools in the study of recent and ancient climate and environmental change. Through this MRI award, Bryn Mawr College will acquire instrumentation that will allow researchers and educators to provide undergraduate women with rigorous and socially relevant independent research experiences in climate and environmental change studies. The instrumentation will also be used to advance faculty research by providing Bryn Mawr College faculty and thesis students the ability to generate high-resolution carbon isotopic data. The acquisition of the proposed instrumentation will allow for higher resolution, less expensive, and timelier analysis of carbon isotopic data for active research programs such as: investigating changes in ancient ocean conditions and their relationships to mass extinctions and the implications of nitrogen pollution and elevated greenhouse gas concentrations on invasive species and ecosystem services in tidal wetlands. This will ultimately help train a more scientifically literate work force and will provide aspiring women scientists with analytical skills that are very much in-demand. The instrumentation will directly improve the research opportunities for undergraduate women at Bryn Mawr College by providing in-house analytical capabilities. The instrumentation will also be an integral component in summer and semester programming for the two Bryn Mawr College STEM Posses, each of which is a diverse group of ten aspiring scientists recruited from urban public schools in Boston. Bryn Mawr College's programming for the current STEM Posse has allowed faculty to identify and remedy weaknesses in approaches to diversifying STEM majors. Thus, the instrumentation will ultimately serve to help increase diversity within STEM graduates.Specifically, this award funds Bryn Mawr College's acquisition of a Picarro Dual Carbon Isotope Analyzer for analysis of the carbon isotopic composition of carbon dioxide and methane, coupled with a Costech Elemental Combustion System. The Picarro Dual Carbon Isotope Analyzer utilizes cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) in order to measure stable isotopes of carbon. Picarro CRDS devices are less expensive and are easier to use and maintain than the isotope ratio mass spectrometers (IRMS) operated by larger research institutions. This advance in technology allows for stable isotopic analysis to be used for teaching and research in a liberal arts college setting. Because of increased demand among liberal arts college students for applications of science to societal issues, there is a critical need to provide those students with practical experiences performing analyses that are used to study climate and environmental change. The proposed instrumentation will also be used to develop laboratory exercises for introductory, major, and advanced level courses in the Geology and Biology programs. These laboratory exercises will be posted on a website entitled Stable Isotope Science for Undergraduates from which other educators can access teaching plans, visuals and class analysis results. This website will be maintained and updated beyond the life of the proposed project.