MRI: Track 3 Acquisition of Helium Recovery Equipment to Enhance Research and Training in Earth Sciences and Chemistry

这项重大研究仪器(MRI)奖将为明尼苏达大学(UMN)的两个广泛使用的多用户研究中心提供资金，用于购买氦气回收和无制冷剂操作的设备：地球与环境科学学院的岩石磁性研究所(IRM)和化学系的核磁共振(核磁共振)实验室。这些设备将使这些设施在应对氦气短缺、配给和供应中断(以及相关的成本影响)方面更具弹性。因此，这些行动将最大限度地不间断地使用仪器，扩大实验室的科学产出，并使许多NSF资助的项目受益，并提高两个关键研究中心的可持续性和弹性。这些实验室的测量对于表征和理解与广泛的科学问题有关的地质、生物、行星和新型合成材料的磁性至关重要。氦是一种有限的资源，当务之急是适当的管理，包括氦气体回收和无制冷剂功能变得司空见惯。对不可再生冷冻剂的依赖使这两个实验室容易受到短缺的影响，并增加了年度运营成本。IRM和核磁共振实验室正处于一个关键时刻，氦短缺和相关的供应配额已经减少了运作，并对预定的活动构成越来越大的不确定性。持续的短缺严重限制了我们服务于更广泛的科学界和推进尖端研究的能力。新设备将减少或消除我们设施中关键设备对LHE的需求。这将使这些设施能够最大限度地不间断地使用其仪器，进一步扩大实验室的科学产出，使众多NSF资助的项目受益，并提高两个关键研究中心的可持续性和弹性。这两个设施都依赖于为超导磁体、超导量子干涉装置(SQUID)磁力仪和可变温度57Fe穆斯堡尔光谱仪的操作提供不间断的液氦(LHe)，这些测量对于表征和了解地质、生物、行星和新型合成材料的磁性至关重要。天然材料、其合成类似物和新材料的低温(2-300K)磁性对于理解广泛的科学问题是必不可少的，低温测量提供了通过任何其他方法无法获得的观察结果。核磁共振波谱是可用于阐明分子结构的最强大的技术。它的许多用途包括确定分子内原子的排列和表征溶液中分子相互作用的动力学。维护LHE设备的功能对于(1)IRM作为国家和国际研究人员的NSF多用户设施；以及(2)作为UMN研究和教学的共用仪器设施的核磁共振实验室的运营至关重要。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。

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award will provide funds to acquire equipment for helium gas recovery and cryogen-free operations for two widely used multi-user research centers at the University of Minnesota (UMN): The Institute for Rock Magnetism (IRM) in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Laboratory in the Department of Chemistry. This equipment will make these facilities more resilient against helium shortages, rationing, and supply disruptions (and the associated impacts on cost). As a result, these actions will maximize the use of instrumentation without interruption and expand the laboratories’ scientific output, as well as benefiting numerous NSF-funded projects, and improving the sustainability and resilience of two key research centers. Measurements in these laboratories are crucial for characterizing and understanding the magnetic properties of geological, biological, planetary, and novel synthetic materials related to a broad range of scientific questions. Helium is a finite resource and it is imperative that proper stewardship, including helium gas recovery and cryogen-free functionality become commonplace. The dependence on non-renewable cryogens has made both laboratories vulnerable to shortages, as well as increasing annual operating costs. The IRM and NMR Laboratory are at a critical juncture where helium shortages and associated supply quotas have already reduced operations and pose increasing uncertainty on scheduled activities. The ongoing shortage has severely limited our ability to serve the broader scientific community and advance cutting-edge research. The new equipment will reduce or eliminate the need for LHe for critical equipment in our facilities. This will allow the facilities to maximize the use of its instruments without interruption, further expanding the laboratories’ scientific output, benefit numerous NSF funded projects, and improve the sustainability and resilience of two key research centers. Both facilities are dependent on uninterrupted supplies of liquid Helium (LHe) for the operations of superconducting magnets, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometers, and variable temperature 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometers for measurements that are crucial for characterizing and understanding the magnetic properties of geological, biological, planetary, and novel synthetic materials. The low-temperature (2-300 K) magnetic properties of natural materials, their synthetic analogues, and novel materials are indispensable for understanding a broad range of scientific questions, with low-temperature measurements providing observations not obtainable through any other methods. NMR spectroscopy is the most powerful technique available for the elucidation of molecular structures. Its many uses include determining the arrangement of atoms within molecules and characterizing the dynamics of molecular interactions in solution. Preserving the functionality of LHe equipment is essential to the operation of (1) the IRM as an NSF multi-user facility for national and international researchers; and (2) the NMR Laboratory as a shared-use instrumentation facility for research and teaching at the UMN.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.