Acquisition of an X-ray Diffraction System for Research at an Undergraduate Woman's College

该奖项是通过重大研究仪器(MRI)计划颁发的，为购买X射线衍射(XRD)系统以及用于样品制备的搅拌机/研磨机提供支持。该设备将用于探索粘土矿物学和地貌过程之间的联系，这对于理解和预测景观对自然和人为压力的反应是重要的。该系统是斯威特·布莱尔学院科学设施的重要补充，将通过参与实际操作的实验室项目以及环境科学、考古学和物理学方面的研究，增强其招募和培训本科生女性成为有效科学家的能力。由该奖项促成的一个研究项目将使用X射线衍射仪来确定一个大型但经过充分研究的分水岭内细粒水库沉积物的来源。这些信息将被用来调查流域的主要侵蚀面积如何随着时间的推移而变化，以应对伐木和风暴引发的滑坡事件。第二个项目将探索粘土矿物学和冲积层的其他岩石学和物理性质对河岸稳定性、凝聚力和形态的影响。重点将放在美国东部的溪流上，河岸物质的简单粘土矿物学以单一矿物为主，但也将包括一些混合矿物学的溪流。

0420317AmbersThis award, made through the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, provides support for the acquisition of an X-ray diffraction (XRD) system, as well as a mixer/mill for sample preparation. This equipment will be used to explore connections between clay mineralogy and geomorphic processes that are important in understanding and predicting landscape response to natural and anthropogenic stressors. The XRD system is an important addition to Sweet Briar College's science facilities and will enhance its ability to recruit and train undergraduate women to be effective scientists through participation in hands-on laboratory projects and research in environmental science, archaeology, and physics. One research project enabled by this award will use XRD to determine the provenance of fine-grained reservoir sediment within a large but well-studied watershed. This information will be used to investigate how the primary areas of erosion in the watershed changed over time in response to logging and storm-triggered landslide events. A second project will explore the influence of clay mineralogy and other petrologic and physical properties of alluvium on stream bank stability, cohesion, and form. The focus will be on eastern U.S. streams with bank materials having simple clay mineralogy dominated by a single mineral but will also include some streams with mixed mineralogy.***