Equipment: Helium Recovery Equipment: Efficient Recycling and Reuse of Liquid Helium in the Mississippi State University NMR Facility

在化学系（CHE）、分子和细胞生物科学系（MCB）和刺激竞争性研究的既定计划的共同资助下，密西西比州立大学（MSU）将获得并安装一个氦回收系统，以支持MSU核磁共振设备。氦是一种不可再生的资源，依赖于液氦（LHe）的科学仪器与全球氦供应状况有关。由于氦气短缺，关键的科学基础设施处于危险之中，这使得依赖这些基础设施的美国研究人员面临失去竞争力的风险。核磁共振（NMR）光谱仪需要持续的氦供应，因为超导线圈会产生这些仪器所需的高磁场。这使得核磁共振设备极易受到氦市场波动的影响。通过氦气回收系统，MSU核磁共振设施将回收几乎所有使用的氦气，确保其持续生存，并通过保持较低的用户费用为新用户提供服务。该团队还为密歇根州立大学受欢迎的环境化学课程开发了一个关于氦气回收和稀缺的教学单元。有关安装过程的信息将通过核磁共振设施的网站和YouTube频道传播。这将支持在其他小型核磁共振设施（如密歇根州立大学的核磁共振设施）安装氦回收系统。拟议中的氦回收设备将支持核磁共振设备，为整个地区的众多化学和生物学研究项目提供服务。例子包括用于新型催化剂的有机金属和无机化学品的合成，C-H活化，CO2还原，光催化和有机发光二极管（oled）。该设施还将支持生物分子功能、多功能材料和新型聚合物的研究。核磁共振是了解反应机制和分子结构的关键技术，密西西比州、阿拉巴马州、田纳西州和路易斯安那州的研究人员都将受益于该设备，它将为密西西比州立大学地区重要的核磁共振设施提供稳定的He供应。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。

With support from the Division of Chemistry (CHE), and co-funding from the Division of Molecular & Cellular Biosciences (MCB) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, Mississippi State University (MSU) will acquire and install a helium recovery system to support the MSU NMR Facility. Helium is a non-renewable resource, and the scientific instrumentation that relies on liquid helium (LHe) is linked to the status of the global helium supply. As a result of helium shortages, critical scientific infrastructure is in jeopardy, which puts the US researchers who rely on that infrastructure at risk of losing their competitiveness. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers require a constant supply of helium because of the superconducting coils that generate the high magnetic fields needed for those instruments. This makes NMR facilities acutely susceptible to fluctuations in the helium market. With a helium recovery system, the MSU NMR Facility will recycle nearly all of the helium it uses, assuring its continued viability and allowing it to serve new users by maintaining low user fees. The team is also developing a teaching unit on helium recycling and scarcity for MSU’s popular Environmental Chemistry class. Information on the installation process will be disseminated via the NMR facility’s website and YouTube channel. This will support the installation of helium recovery systems in other small NMR facilities like that at MSU. The proposed helium recovery equipment will support NMR equipment serving numerous chemistry and biology research projects throughout the region. Examples include synthesis of organometallic and inorganic chemicals used in novel catalysts, C-H activation, CO2 reduction, photocatalysis, and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The facility will also support research on biomolecular function, multifunctional materials, and novel polymers. NMR is a critical enabling technology to understand reaction mechanisms and molecular structure, and researchers throughout Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana will benefit from this equipment and the stability it will provide in facilitating the maintenance of a steady He supply in support of the regionally important NMR facility at Mississippi State University.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.