This proposal seeks funding for technician support (1/2 of cost) in the Stable Isotope Laboratory in the Department of Geological Sciences at Florida State University. This proposal is a follow-on to a previous successful IF equipment and technician support grant. The technician will be responsible for day-to-day operations, maintenance, logistics, training, scheduling, and supervising. Projects in paleoceanography, paleoecology, paleoclimate, nutrient cycling, forest and wetland biogeochemistry and hydrology, food web and trophic interactions, and methane biogeochemistry will benefit from this support. Previous technician support has been instrumental in getting the lab up and running. Currently, the administration has agreed to offer ½ of the technician?s salary. The PIs all have or have requested EAR funding. The management plan has the instrument housed in the stable isotope facility. After the two years of funding requested in this proposal, college and departmental funds plus recharge monies will be used to support the full-time technician. The PI team is diverse and represents a breadth of disciplines. The partner is a historically black institution. The technician will support both graduate and undergraduate research and education. Summer educational outreach will be performed through REU.
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This grant provided 50% funding for a research technician in the Stable Isotope Lab at the Florida State University (FSU). The NSF-supported technician has greatly facilitated the research, education and outreach activities in various departments including Departments of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Anthropology and Chemistry, and has opened up new opportunities for research, collaboration, outreach and student training. FSU Stable Isotope lab (located in the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory) has all necessary facilities for stable isotope analyses of various types of samples. The lab provides advanced analytical instrumentation for training graduate and undergraduate students in the use of stable isotopes in Earth science and environmental studies, and in the hands-on experimental procedures and isotopic analysis of various samples. The dedicated technician has played a critical role in the safe operation and maintenance of the stable isotope facility and has made the FSU Stable Isotope Laboratory accessible to not only faculty and students at FSU but also scientists from Florida A & M University and other institutions. During the grant period, forty-seven individuals used the lab to acquire stable isotope data and many of them are students (majority of them are female) who have made hands-on measurements in this lab. The lab technician has helped with training of many student users and has played a critical role in keeping the FSU Stable Isotope Lab running smoothly and productively. In addition to training graduate and undergraduate student users, the lab also participates in mentorship program at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and sponsored the science projects of one high school and two middle school students during the project period. PI and co-PIs of this grant authored/co-authored a total of 24 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles over the two-year grant period (4/01/ 2009-3/31/2011). Twelve dissertations and theses have been completed since April 2009 that benefited from the technician support.
