Equipment: MRI Track 1: Acquisition of a LA-ICP-MS for Research and Research Training

该重大研究仪器奖(MRI)资助奥伯林学院购买激光消融电感耦合等离子体四极杆质谱仪(LA-ICP-MS)，这是一种用于分析广泛的固体(矿物和组织)和液体样本以加深对其组成和意义的理解的仪器。这个高度通用的系统将使10名教员--6名来自奥伯林学院三个系，4名来自俄亥俄州其他学院和大学--进行尖端研究并培训本科生。奥伯林大学地球科学学院的教职员工和学生将绘制变质岩矿物中微量金属的分布图，以重建它们的压力-温度历史，并通过检查矿物锆石中的同位素时钟，研究基本的地球过程，如造山。其他教员将把类似的技术应用于化石和现代贝壳，以更好地了解这些有机体如何应对和记录不断变化的气候。该仪器还将用于研究伊利湖的氯污染，以及研究侵蚀和土地利用的变化。神经科学、化学和生物化学系将研究脑组织和模式生物秀丽线虫(C.elegans)对重金属的吸收，这一研究有助于我们了解减少环境毒素有害影响的策略。LA-ICP-MS将提高十人提案团队的研究效率，该团队主要是女性，包括四名职业生涯早期的科学家和三名在科学界代表性较低的小规模团体的成员。Oberlin是继续获得科学博士学位的学生的领先教育者，这种工具将改善本科生的研究培训，他们将在高水平的课堂上使用它，以及在独立的项目中使用。它还将提高奥伯林大学和其他参与机构--丹尼森大学、伍斯特学院和凯斯西储大学--招收和培训不同群体学生进行科学研究的能力。获得一个具有串联四极杆和气体反应池的电感耦合等离子体质谱仪，再加上具有精确舞台控制的193 nm激光消融系统，将使奥伯林大学的教职员工能够在进行尖端研究的同时，招聘和培训未来的科学家。最新一代的LA系统支持高分辨率(~3μm)空间分析和快速洗出，当与高灵敏度的四极等离子体质谱仔细同步时，允许对痕量元素进行详细成像，开辟了新的研究途径。同样，串联式四极杆和碰撞/反应池质谱仪最近的重大发展使得通过消除质量干扰而大大提高了灵敏度。Oberlin的科学教育得到了个人和合作教员积极而富有成效的研究计划的加强，使用LA-ICP-MS系统将促进该机构的几个研究计划，使Oberlin能够吸引和留住一流的科学教师，并为他们提供基础设施，使他们保持在各自学科的前沿，同时继续我们高质量研究培训的使命。重要的是，本科生将是LA-ICP-MS的主要用户，使他们能够发展实践经验和技能，对他们未来的科学职业生涯有用。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 provides funding to Oberlin College to acquire a laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS), an instrument used to analyze a broad range of solid (mineral and tissue) and liquid samples to deepen understanding of their composition and significance. This highly versatile system will enable ten faculty – six from three departments at Oberlin College and four from other Ohio colleges and universities – to perform cutting-edge research and to train undergraduate science students. Oberlin College Geosciences faculty and students will map the distribution of trace metals in minerals in metamorphic rocks to reconstruct their pressure-temperature histories, and, by examining isotope clocks in the mineral zircon, study fundamental Earth processes such as mountain building. Other faculty will apply similar techniques to fossils and modern shells to better understand how these organisms respond to and record the changing climate. The instrument will also be used to study chlorine pollution in Lake Erie and to research erosion and changing land use. Faculty in Neuroscience and Chemistry and Biochemistry will study the uptake of heavy metals in brain tissue and the model organism Caenorhabditis Elegans (C. elegans), research that can contribute to our understanding of strategies for reducing the harmful impacts of environmental toxins. The LA-ICP-MS will enhance the research productivity of the ten-member proposing team, which is majority female and includes four early-career scientists and three members of minoritized groups underrepresented in the sciences. Oberlin is a leading educator of students who go on to earn PhDs in the sciences, and this instrument will improve the research training of undergraduates, who will use it in upper-level classes as well as in independent projects. It will also improve the ability of Oberlin and the other participating institutions – Denison University, The College of Wooster, and Case Western Reserve University – to recruit and train a diverse group of students in scientific research.The acquisition of an ICP-MS with tandem quadrupoles and gas reaction cell coupled to a 193 nm laser ablation system with precise stage control will enable faculty at Oberlin to perform cutting-edge research while recruiting and training future scientists. The newest generation of LA systems supports high-resolution (~3 μm) spatial analyses with a fast wash-out, which, when carefully synchronized with a high-sensitivity quadrupole ICP-MS, allows for detailed imaging of trace elements, opening up new avenues of research. Likewise, substantial recent developments in tandem quadrupole and collision/reaction cell mass spectrometry allow greatly increased sensitivity through the removal of mass interferences. Science education at Oberlin is enhanced by the active and productive research programs of individual and collaborative faculty, and access to the LA-ICP-MS system will advance several research programs at the institution, will enable Oberlin to attract and retain a top science faculty and provide infrastructure for them to remain at the forefront of their disciplines while continuing our mission of high-quality research training. Importantly, undergraduate students will be primary users of the LA-ICP-MS, enabling them to develop hands-on experience and skills useful for their future careers in scienceThis 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.