Emergency Replacement of Vintage Aries NMR Console

我们是一个量子凝聚态物理的研究小组。 我们研究高度相关的电子材料，如自旋液体，量子临界性，和新的超导性所表现出的奇异量子现象。 我们的主要实验探针是在低温环境中进行的核磁共振（NMR）光谱。 NMR是一种多功能探头，在日常生活中有各种应用。 例如，用于医疗诊断的磁共振成像（MRI）依赖于人体内的质子NMR，而石油工业则使用NMR来测试地表以下2,000米处的石油性质。 自1994年以来，我们成功地建立了场扫描和频率扫描NMR技术的专业知识，并与三个超导磁体（9 ~ 16特斯拉）和高压电池相结合。 然而，我们实验室中的一些旧设备已接近使用寿命。 特别是，我们的Aries NMR光谱仪控制台由Tecmag公司于1994年制造，已成为我们的研究和学生培训活动的主要障碍。这是因为白羊座只能用1999年的苹果Power Mac G3台式电脑（或更老的型号）来获取实验数据。 由于苹果G3电脑运行在过时的苹果OS 8操作系统上，我的学生很难利用现代计算机软件来排序，绘图和分析他们的数据。 更糟糕的是，我们的两个老式白羊座控制台之一在几年前出现故障，无法修复，其余的白羊座最近在数据采集过程中出现了挂起的趋势。 虽然这些白羊座控制台帮助我的学生进行了世界级的研究，并发表了一些备受瞩目的论文，包括我们最近在最负盛名的期刊，如科学杂志（傅等人，2015）和Physical Review X（Kinross等人，2014年;也强调在线物理视点），它现在运行在借来的时间。 我们现在必须采取行动，用一个现代化的控制台取代白羊座，在它突然达到生命的尽头并导致我的学生的论文项目灾难性的延误之前，不要有任何延误。 在这份提案中，我请求资助Tecmag公司紧急购买红石核磁共振光谱仪控制台。 Redstone是一款功能强大的NMR控制台，它利用了现代数字电子技术和Windows计算机的全部计算能力。 新的现代核磁共振光谱仪将帮助我的学生在未来几年内以最高水平推进更多前沿研究。

We are a research group of quantum condensed matter physics. We investigate exotic quantum phenomena exhibited by highly correlated electron materials, such as spin liquids, quantum criticality, and novel superconductivity. Our primary experimental probe is Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy conducted in cryogenic environment. NMR is a versatile probe with a variety of applications in daily life. For example, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) used for medical diagnosis relies on proton NMR in human body, whereas the petroleum industry uses NMR to test the properties of oil 2,000 meters below the ground surface. Since 1994, we have successfully built up the expertise in field-swept, as well as frequency-swept NMR techniques in conjunction with three superconducting magnets (9 ~ 16 Tesla) and high-pressure cells. Some of our older equipment in our laboratory, however, is nearing the end of its useful life. In particular, our Aries NMR spectrometer console manufactured by Tecmag corporation in 1994 has become a major impediment to our research and student training activities. This is because the Aries can only acquire experimental data with the vintage 1999 model of Apple Power Mac G3 desktop computers (or older models). Since the Apple G3 computers run on the obsolete Apple OS8 operating system, my students have difficulties in taking advantage of modern computer software to sort, plot, and analyze their data. To make the matter worse, one of our two vintage Aries consoles failed a few years ago and it cannot be repaired, and the remaining Aries has recently developed a tendency to cause hang-ups during data acquisition. Although these Aries consoles helped my students conduct world-class research and publish a number of high profile papers, including our recent articles in the most prestigious journals such as Science magazine (Fu et al., 2015) and Physical Review X (Kinross et al., 2014; also highlighted online in Physics Viewpoint), it is now running on borrowed time. We must act now and replace the Aries with a modern console with no delays before it suddenly reaches the end of life and causes catastrophic delays in the dissertation projects of my students. In this proposal, I request funding for an emergency purchase of a Redstone NMR spectrometer console by Tecmag corporation. The Redstone is a powerful NMR console that takes advantage of the modern digital electronics and the full computing power of Windows computers. The new modern NMR spectrometer will help my students advance more cutting edge research at the highest level for years to come.