MRI: Acquisition of an Advanced Magnetic Property Measurement System for Research and Education in the Paso del Norte Region

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This project will acquire a modern multi-purpose Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometer with closed cycle cryogen-free operation with unprecedented sensitivity. Currently, no measurement equipment with comparable capability is available to researchers in the Paso del Norte region. The proposed acquisition of this equipment will fill a critical void in the research infrastructure of El Paso, serving as a shared resource for measurement needs of many users. The instrument will be vital to shortening the scientific discovery process and technology development. Advanced magnetic, electronic, and optical methods developed using this instrument will further enhance the research infrastructure to provide valuable new capabilities for scientists and engineers working in three different predominantly Hispanic Serving Institutes, namely, UTEP, New Mexico State University (NMSU), and New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU). Graduate and undergraduate students participating in the research projects will gain hands-on experience in advanced measurement techniques on a platform widely used in research and development laboratories around the world. The principal investigators will leverage the established partnerships with community outreach programs at UTEP, NMSU, and NMHU to involve high school and Hispanic students in research and educational activities. The availability of this instrument will help attract excellent researchers to the universities in the Paso del Norte regionThe proposed SQUID magnetometer will enable groundbreaking and transformative research and training opportunities on a broad range of material systems, bringing regional capabilities that do not currently exist within the vicinity of several hundred miles in the Paso del Norte region. The SQUID magnetometer will be able to characterize the magnetic properties of minute quantities of magnetic material over a temperature range from 1.8 K to 1000 K, magnetic fields up to 7 Tesla, external light source (180-1100 nm), pressure range of 0 to 1.3 GPa, and provide new capabilities for measuring physical properties as a function of temperature, magnetic field, pressure, illumination, and sample orientation. In addition to superior sensitivity, the ability to operate this instrument without the loss of liquid helium renders it a high-throughput, low-cost facility that stands to dramatically amplify long-term regional scientific output. The instrument will support diverse research activities including the following: (a) studying the magnetic properties of van der Waals solids upon in-situ photoexcitation and pressure, (b) characterizing unprecedented uranium endohedral fullerenes and rare earth compounds with open shell structures to probe their electronic and magnetic properties, (c) elucidating the electronic structure and fascinating magnetic characteristics of Ru-based systems, (d) developing magnetic and multiferroic materials for next generation thermal applications, (e) investigating the magnetic and superconducting properties of nanocomposite thin films, (f) examining magnetic organic frameworks that necessitate in-situ photoexcitation, (g) exploring the aspects of paleorock magnetism that needs susceptibility and alternating current options, and (h) investigating high temperature magnetoelectric materials.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.