MRI: Acquisition of a Cryogenic Physical Properties Measurement System for Geophysical and Magnetic Materials Research

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The Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award will support the acquisition of a Quantum Design VersaLab Physical Property Measurement System (VersaLab - PPMS). The instrument will be used to support faculty research and teaching laboratories (physics advanced laboratory, materials science, and geology) at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, a non-Ph.D. granting institution. The VersaLab – PPMS is a versatile instrument, capable of conducting electrical, magnetic, and thermal properties measurements in the temperature range of 50 – 1000 K. The apparatus installed at Concordia College will also serve a regional consortium of higher education institutions in North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota. The researchers will engage undergraduate students in hands-on investigations of a broad range of materials during the summer and throughout the regular school year, thus training the next generation of scientists. This award will support the acquisition of a VersaLab Physical Property Measurement System (VersaLab – PPMS), made by Quantum Design, Inc (San Diego, CA), and to be housed in the Physics Department at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. The equipment has a 3 Tesla cryogen-free superconducting magnet and can measure electrical, magnetic, and thermal properties of materials over a broad temperature range (50 – 1000 K). The VersaLab system will enhance the quality and scope of research possible by the Principal Investigators and increase the speed at which data is collected. Specific research topics include the investigation of (1) the magnetic properties of iron oxides polymorphs submitted to thermal treatment; (2) the effects of foreign elements in the structure of iron oxides; (3) the conversion of iron oxides in a controlled environment versus their transformation in ambient conditions; and (4) the properties of magnetic nanomaterials. The apparatus will also support Concordia College’s physics curriculum by adding teaching laboratory activities to materials science, advanced laboratories and the geology course, thus furthering our mission of training the next generation of scientists using modern technology and techniques.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.