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.
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Our main objectives of this proposal was to enhance research capabilities and hands-on education and analytical training at Montclair State University (MSU) by obtaining an electronics and computer upgrade for our existing Horiba Jobin Yvon Ultima C Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). This upgrade was completed by Horiba JY technicians over a period of ten (10) days, between October 18-29, 2010. For a relatively small investment ($28k), the completed electronics upgrade of the Horiba JY Ultima C at Montclair State University now ensures long-term (~10+ years), easy access to high-quality geochemical data for MSU faculty and student researchers as well as external users from local universities, government agencies, and the private sector. Technically, the upgraded instrument is now equivalent to what the manufacturer presently offers as their top-of the-line instrument, but at a fraction of the cost. Major scientific outcomes of this project include (1) a better understanding of the tectonic and magmatic processes that formed the Appalachian Mountains; (2) developing techniques for interpreting climate records stored in marine sediments in order to figure out how the Antarctic ice sheets responded to past changes in climate so that we can prepare for what may happen to the ice sheets due to future global climate change, and (3) providing key insights into the fate of toxic metals and pharmaceuticals in the environment and the effectiveness of potential remediation systems that could potential clean-up contaminated these contaminants in water and soil. The science produced from this project is presented in six (6) journal articles, five (5) senior and master’s thesis, and eighteen (18) conference abstracts (12 of which are first-authored by students). This 1-yr project has directly contributed to enhancing the research and educational experience, analytical training, and teaching skills of four (4) undergraduate and six (6) graduate students (5 MS and 1 PhD), two (2) post-doctoral researchers, and five (5) college faculty (4 full-time and 1 visiting). Of these seventeen (17) people directly involved with the project, seven (41%) were women and eight (47%) were members of underrepresented groups. In general, the ICP-OES instrument also serves the broader Montclair State University student body which is composed of >60% women and >20% minorities. The project has also provided summer research experiences for two (2) high school students participating in MSU’s Weston Scholars Program.
