Equipment: MRI: Acquisition of Helium Recovery Equipment: Helium recovery for magnetic resonance facilities at UC Santa Barbara

该项目提供了一个协调一致的计划，以减轻氦供应危机对加州大学圣巴巴拉磁共振研究和仪器的潜在破坏性影响。这一共同努力汇集了NSF支持的材料研究实验室（MRL）MRSEC光谱设施和太赫兹设施，使化学，物理，材料科学，化学工程和生物学的前沿研究成为可能，并为50多个研究小组和众多工业合作伙伴提供服务。请求的仪器是防止灾难性仪器故障和资源损失的关键。此外，通过降低与通过氦循环操作超导磁体相关的成本和意外事件，所要求的仪器对以下方面具有决定性影响：1）研究小组实现其研究里程碑并维持资金的能力，2）保留具有磁共振光谱学专业知识的教师，招募该领域新教师的能力，以及培养下一代科学家的能力。所要求的仪器也是在NSF支持的“NRT：量子组装技术综合培训（INTRIQATE）”计划的背景下提供的实验室课程开发的关键，该计划旨在为研究生在多样化的量子劳动力中的领导能力做好准备。中压氦（He）回收系统使磁共振设施能够接近自给自足，消除外部He供应的意外情况，并防止对八个超导磁体（总共价值数百万美元）造成不可弥补的损害。该回收系统包括氦净化器、压缩机、中压回收中心、净化系统和中压储罐。该系统取代了光谱设备中现有的液化器，从而将He回收率从约60%显著提高到约90- 95%。重要的是，通过将现有的净化器转移到太赫兹设施，此次收购创造了使两个主要用户设施受益的独特机会。在高影响力的研究活动，使这种仪器，我们在这里强调五个：1）NMR和EPR研究的离子和混合导电材料的电化学能量储存和水净化系统; 2）非原位和原位NMR洞察到非均相催化剂; 3）设计的生物分子MRI探针; 4）使用时间分辨的钆-钆电子顺磁共振（TIGGER）光谱法拍摄作用中的蛋白质; 5）在低维、模式化自旋结构中探测许多物体的相互作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project offers a concerted plan to mitigate the potentially devastating impacts of the helium supply crisis on magnetic resonance research and instrumentation at UC Santa Barbara. The concerted effort brings together the NSF-supported Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) MRSEC Spectroscopy Facility and Terahertz Facility, that enable cutting-edge research in Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, and Biology and serve over 50 research groups and numerous industrial partners. The requested instrumentation is key to preventing catastrophic instrument failure and loss of resources. Further, by reducing the cost and contingencies associated with operating superconducting magnets through helium recycling, the requested instrumentation has a decisive impact on: 1) the ability of research groups to meet their research milestones and maintain funding, 2) the ability to retain faculty with expertise in magnetic resonance spectroscopy, recruit new faculty members in this area, and train the next generation of scientists. The requested instrumentation is also key to the development of a lab course offered in the context of the NSF-supported “NRT: Integrative Training In Quantum Assembly & Technology (INTRIQATE)” program, which aims to prepare graduate students for leadership in a diverse quantum workforce. The medium pressure helium (He) recovery system enables the magnetic resonance facilities of interest to operate near self-sufficiency, removing contingencies on external He supplies and preventing irreparable damage to eight superconducting magnets (which together are worth several million dollars). The recovery system includes a He liquefier, a compressor, a medium pressure recovery hub, a purification system, and a medium pressure storage tank. This system replaces the current Liquefier in the Spectroscopy Facility, resulting in a significant increase in He recovery from ~60% to ~90-95%. Importantly, by transferring the existing liquefier to the Terahertz Facility, this acquisition creates the unique opportunity of benefitting two major user Facilities. Among high impact research activities enabled by this instrumentation, we highlight five here: 1) NMR and EPR studies of ion and mixed conducting materials for electrochemical energy storage and water purification systems; 2) Ex situ and in situ NMR insights into heterogeneous catalysts; 3) Design of biomolecular MRI probes; 4) Filming proteins in action using Time-resolved Gadolinium-Gadolinium Electron paramagnetic Resonance (TIGGER) Spectroscopy; 5) Probing many body interactions in low dimension, patterned spin architectures.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.