Upgrade of the Optical ICP at Montclair State University

0948992 Gorring This award will fund an electronics and computing upgrade on an existing ICP-OES system at in the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies at MSU. The upgrade will support diverse research projects within a wide range of disciplines including mantle and surface processes and bioremediation. Specific efforts include: northeast United States and the Southern Andes tectonic and magmatic history; marine and terrestrial sediment and loess-soil sequence paleoclimatic variability; and water and soil pollution and remediation studies. Research programs are funded by numerous agencies including NSF. The electronics upgrade will ensure long-term instrument stability and will extend the life of the instrument allowing high-quality geochemical data generation for MSU faculty, student researchers and outside users from local universities, government agencies, and the private sector. The instrumentation will support a growing and diverse student population comprised of 60% women and 20% minorities. Students are incorporated in laboratory and field research. Students lead presentations at international meetings and are incorporated into peer-reviewed papers. The instrument upgrade will greatly strengthen regional partnerships. The upgraded instrument will continue serving both undergraduate and graduate courses. K-12 outreach occurs in the summer through several in-house programs. The PI provides instrument training and administration, prioritizes use and assists in scheduling run time. Academic researchers are asked to contribute to consumables while outside users are charged a fee for samples which supplies funding for instrument maintenance and upkeep. ***