Acquisition of Tabletop SEM for the University of Rochester Experimental Geochemistry Laboratory

地球科学仪器和设施计划奖的这一部门支持收购一个扫描电子显微镜（SEM）将被安置在地球和环境科学系在罗切斯特大学。 扫描电镜能够在微米级显示矿物特征和化学成分，放大倍数高达100，000倍，并将配备能量色散光谱仪，允许空间分辨成分分析。 SEM将用于研究在实验室中生长的合成矿物的化学性质，以模拟自然界中发生的矿物生长现象。 扫描电镜将是小格式和便携式，使学生在地球和人造材料表征课堂设置的培训。 针对K-12教师培训的本地推广也将受益于此次收购。SEM将支持实验火成岩学研究，包括微量元素矿物-熔体分配研究、合成和天然矿物的平衡同位素分馏研究、结晶温压计和氧逸度测定方法的开发。该仪器还将支持罗切斯特大学的其他实验室，包括：（i）同位素地球化学实验室，负责测量岩石和矿物的放射成因和稳定同位素成分，以更好地了解地球硅酸盐储层的历史;（ii）结构地质学小组，负责研究不同尺度的山脉演化，包括碎裂岩和糜棱岩的显微结构分析，以了解变形机制和运动学演化;以及（iii）古地磁研究小组，专注于测量各种材料的剩磁（体磁特性，自然剩磁磁化）。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识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 Division of Earth Sciences Instrumentation and Facilities Program award supports acquisition of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to be housed in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at University of Rochester. The SEM is capable of revealing minerals features and chemical composition at the micron-scale with magnification up to 100,000x and will be equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer which permits spatially resolved compositional analysis. The SEM will be used to investigate the chemistry of synthetic minerals grown in the laboratory that seek to mimic mineral growth phenomena occurring in nature. The SEM will be small format and portable enabling student training in Earth and manmade materials characterization within classroom settings. Local outreach targeted at K-12 teacher training will also benefit from the acquisition.The SEM will support research in experimental igneous petrology including trace element mineral-melt partitioning studies, equilibrium isotope fractionation studies of synthetic and natural minerals, development of crystallization thermobarometers and oxygen fugacity determination methods The instrument will also support other University of Rochester laboratories including: (i) the laboratory for isotope geochemistry which performs measurements of radiogenic and stable isotope compositions of rocks and minerals to better understand history of Earth’s silicate reservoirs; (ii) the structural geology group who study the evolution of mountain belts at many different scales including microstructural analysis of cataclasites and mylonites to understand deformation mechanisms and kinematic evolution; and (iii) the paleomagnetic research group that focuses on the measurement of magnetic remanence (bulk magnetic properties, natural remanent magnetization) of a variety of materials.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.