Renovating and Expanding Research and Research Training Facilities in the Geosciences at Oberlin College

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。该奖项将提供资金，以翻新和扩大奥伯林学院的地球科学研究和研究培训设施。现有的设施建于1908年，当时是大学图书馆，1989年进行了翻新，以容纳四名教职员工，模式是每人占据一间大房间，既是办公室，也是研究实验室。另外还配备了共享空间：一个是湿化学室，一个是只有一个研究显微镜的小房间，还有一个暗室。该项目将办公室和研究空间分开，并将所有研究统一到一个中央走廊，容纳六个实验室。实验室集群将促进教师和本科生研究人员之间的跨学科工作，并有效共享仪器和设备。通过翻新将推进的研究实例包括：1)确定海洋沉积物中贝壳碳酸盐的腐烂途径；2)分析礁核，以更好地了解过去珊瑚礁沉积和群落结构的记录，以此作为当前珊瑚礁危机的背景；3)重建俯冲带岩石的变质历史；4)表征1.9Ga铁建造中的胶结物，以洞察前寒武纪海洋的组成和温度；4)揭示变形是如何在圣安德烈亚斯断裂系统的更大构造中以更精细的尺度进行调节的；5)通过定位和追踪撞击球体的新地层层并对这些层进行地球化学和岩石学表征，精炼前寒武纪小行星撞击地球的历史；以及6)分析俄亥俄州东北部冰川沉积物中的水质和污染物迁移。地质学教师和学生在实地考察和课堂上发展出强烈的社区意识。由于研究空间高度分散，目前设施中的研究活动往往会将研究人员和学生隔离开来。更新和集中的研究综合体将使教师研究能够扩展到在当前配置下不可行的新研究领域，提高研究效率，并将把教师和学生研究人员联合到一个将促进跨学科工作的设施中。鉴于Oberlin地质学毕业生继续获得地球科学高级学位并在高等教育中就业的比例很高，改进的研究培训设施将有助于加强对下一代地球科学教育工作者和研究科学家的准备。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The award will provide funds to renovate and expand research and research training facilities in the geosciences at Oberlin College. The existing facility was built in 1908 as the college library and was renovated in 1989 to accommodate four faculty, based on a model where each person occupied a large room that served as both office and research laboratory. Additional shared spaces were outfitted: one for wet-chemistry, a small room with a single research microscope, and a darkroom. This project will separate the office and research space and unite all research into a centralized corridor housing six laboratories. The lab cluster will facilitate cross-disciplinary work among faculty and undergraduate researchers and efficient sharing of instrumentation and equipment. Examples of research that will be advanced through the renovation will include: 1) Determining pathways of decay in shell carbonate in marine sediments; 2) Analyzing reef cores to better understand the record of coral reef accretion and community structure in the past as context for the present crisis on coral reefs; 3) Reconstructing metamorphic histories of subduction-zone rocks; 4) Characterizing cements from 1.9Ga iron formations to gain insight into the composition and temperature of Precambrian oceans; 4) Revealing how deformation is accommodated at finer scales within larger structures along the San Andreas fault system; 5) Refining the history of asteroid impacts on Earth during Precambrian time by locating and tracing new stratigraphic layers of impact spherules and characterizing these layers geochemically and petrographically; and 6) Analyzing water quality and contaminant migration in the glacial deposits of northeast Ohio. Geology faculty and students develop a strong sense of community during field trips and in the classroom. Research activities in the present facility tend to isolate and separate research students and faculty because research space is highly fragmented. An updated and centralized research complex will enable faculty research to expand to new research areas not feasible in the current configuration, increase research efficiency, and will unite faculty and student researchers into a single facility that will foster interdisciplinary work. Given the high percentage of Oberlin geology graduates who go on to earn advanced degrees in the geosciences and careers in higher education, improved research training facilities will help strengthen the preparation of the next generation of geoscience educators and research scientists.