Acquisition of an X-Ray Suite (XRD and WD-XRF) to support Geology and Geological Engineering Research and Education at the University of Mississippi

密西西比大学(UM)地质与地质工程系(GGE)开展了各种研究项目，这些项目需要了解岩石、矿物、土壤和化石的化学成分。物质晶体结构的鉴定是地球科学家和工程技术人员普遍需要的，而X射线衍射仪(X射线衍射仪)满足了这一需求。在密歇根大学校区购买一台X射线衍射仪将立即提高GGE教职员工的研究效率。这项研究将有助于重建大陆在地球历史上的位置、墨西哥湾地区过去经历的气候变化模型、改进钻井方法、开发防止地下水污染的技术以及增进对海洋生物演化的了解。此外，新工具将支持至少22门本科生和研究生课程，每年将使UM GGE系的200多名学生受益，同时提高各学科学生的教育质量。采用X射线衍射技术的项目类型将使密歇根大学的学生更好地掌握实际工作技能，使他们在全球劳动力市场上更具竞争力。需要资金购买一台Rigaku MiniFlex 6G台式X射线衍射仪，用于密西西比大学地质和地质工程系(UM)。UM GGE研究的范围要求能够通过所请求的仪器快速和准确地确定粉状地球材料的散装成分。新的XRD将成为密歇根州立大学GGE系一系列研究和教育项目中不可或缺的实验室组成部分，并将立即使13名教职员工受益。所要求的X射线衍射仪有一个D/Tex的先进硅片探测器，配有一个接收单色仪和一个8位自动取样器，这将有助于在0D和1D模式下进行高速、高动态范围、低噪声的数据采集，以获得比传统闪烁计数器大几十倍到~100倍的强度。MiniFlex 6G占地面积小，需要最小的桌面空间，并且具有易于操作的用户友好系统，最大限度地减少了培训所需的时间，并将潜在操作员扩大到包括本科生。这种多功能性将适应UM GGE部门正在进行的矿物学、沉积学、古生物学、蒸发岩地质和水文地质项目所需的大量预期大块样品。该项目由美国国家科学基金会(NSF)地球科学仪器与设施部(EAR/IF)地球科学部的EAR/IF计划和既定的激励竞争性研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Geology and Geological Engineering (GGE) Department at the University of Mississippi (UM) conducts a variety of research projects that require knowledge of the chemical composition of rocks, minerals, soils, and fossils. Identification of material crystal structure is commonly needed by geoscientists and engineers and X-ray diffraction (XRD) meets this need. The acquisition of an XRD instrument on the UM campus will immediately enhance the efficiency of GGE faculty research. This research will help in reconstructions of the positions of the continents throughout Earth history, models of past climate changes experienced by the Gulf of Mexico region, enhancement of well drilling methodologies, development of technologies for prevention of groundwater pollution, and increased understanding of evolution of marine life. In addition, the new instrument will support at least 22 undergraduate and graduate courses and will benefit more than 200 students in the UM GGE department each year, while improving the quality of education of students across a wide range of disciplines. The types of projects enabled with XRD technology will better prepare UM students with practical job skills to make them more competitive in the global workforce. Funds were requested to acquire a Rigaku MiniFlex 6G Benchtop X-ray diffractometer (XRD) for use in the Geology and Geological Engineering (GGE) Department at the University of Mississippi (UM). The scope of UM GGE research requires the rapid and accurate determination of bulk composition of powdered earth materials enabled by the requested instrument. The new XRD will be an integral laboratory component for the UM GGE Department in a number of research and education programs and will immediately benefit 13 faculty members. The requested XRD has a D/teX Ultra 1D advanced silicon strip detector, available with a receiving monochromator and an 8-position auto-sampler that will facilitate high-speed, high-dynamic range, low-noise data collection in 0D and 1D modes to obtain intensity from a few tens to ~100 times greater than a conventional scintillation counter. The MiniFlex 6G has a compact footprint, requiring minimal benchtop space and has a user-friendly system designed for easy operation, minimizing the time required for training and expanding the potential operators to include undergraduate students. This versatility will accommodate the high volume of expected bulk samples required for ongoing mineralogy, sedimentology, paleontology, evaporite geology, and hydrogeology projects in the UM GGE Department. This project is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Earth Sciences Instrumentation and Facilities (EAR/IF) Program in the Division of Earth Sciences and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.