Laboratory Technician Support: UW-Madison Rock Mechanics Laboratory for Teaching, Service, and Decadal Testing

该奖项为威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校（UWM）岩石力学实验室（RML）提供了一名新的实验室技术人员。UWM-RML的地球科学研究范围涵盖了构造物理学和断层力学的基本问题，以及能源回收的优化。RML的研究任务是为各种科学/工程项目的基本岩石力学测试需求提供岩石力学设施，并主持先进的岩石力学研究，解决地质力学和构造物理学的前沿问题。RML还通过课堂活动和为本科生和研究生提供先进的研究设备，为他们提供积极的教育体验。新的实验室技术员将协助培训/指导RML的各种用户，并大大提高RML服务这些角色的能力。RML的专业技术人员还将在用户中培养具有安全意识的文化和环境，以及为美国地球科学界服务的协作环境。在地质力学问题中，对岩石力学性质进行准确可靠的测量是正确解释固体土的驱动力与变形之间的因果关系的基础。在UWM-RML中，特别强调的是量化地壳岩石的长期随时间变化的韧性特性，直到最近，由于普遍认为岩石在地壳中或多或少表现为线性弹性，这在岩石力学界的研究相对较少。新技术人员将有助于设计一个强大的十年尺度测试设施，这将需要开发具有严格高精度温度控制的传统三轴设备。威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校RML的新发现有望提供急需的数据，以评估地壳岩石延展性行为的真正影响，可能导致地质力学和构造物理学的革命性解释。更好地从物理上理解固体地球是如何在十年到地质时间尺度上储存应力和变形的，将有助于社会减轻地震、火山和山体滑坡等毁灭性自然灾害造成的损害。这些知识也为行业带来了更好的实践，以更有效地回收地下资源，最大限度地减少对环境的影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award supports a new laboratory technician for the Rock Mechanics Laboratory (RML) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM). The scope of earth science research that takes place in UWM-RML spans from fundamental questions in tectonophysics and fault mechanics, to optimization of energy resource recovery. The research mission of the RML is to provide rock mechanics facilities for basic rock mechanics testing needs in various scientific/engineering projects, and to host advanced rock mechanics research addressing cutting edge issues in geomechanics and tectonophysics. The RML also hosts active educational experiences to undergraduate and graduate students through classroom activities and by providing access to advanced equipments in their researches. The new laboratory technician will help train/mentor the various users of the RML and greatly enhance the capacity to which the RML serves these roles. The dedicated technician in the RML will also foster a safety-conscious culture and environment amongst the users, and a collaborative environment to serve the US earth science community.In geomechanical problems, it is fundamental to conduct accurate reliable measurements of rock mechanical properties to properly interpret the causal relationship between the driving forces and deformation of the solid-earth. In UWM-RML, specific emphasis is on quantifying the long-term time-dependent ductile properties of crustal rocks, which have been relatively under-investigated in the rock mechanics community until recently, due to common notion that rocks more or less behave linear elastically in the crust. The new technician will contribute to the design of a robust decadal-scale testing facility which will require the development of a conventional triaxial apparatus with rigorous high-precision temperature controls. New findings from the UW-Madison RML is expected to provide the much needed data to evaluate the true impact of the ductile behavior of crustal rocks, potentially leading to transformative interpretations in geomechanics and tectonophysics. Better physical understanding of how the solid earth stores stress and deforms over decadal to geological time scales will help the society mitigate damages caused by devastating natural hazards such as earthquake, volcanoes, and landslides. Such knowledge also leads to better practices in the industry to recover subsurface resources more efficiently minimizing the impact to the environment.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.