This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program grant supports the acquisition of an optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermoluminescence reader and associated gamma ray spectrometer to support research and undergraduate education at New Mexico Highlands University, a non-Ph.D granting institution. The OSL lab at NMHU will support research that will benefit from the ability to date the burial ages of silicate phases in geological and archaeological materials up to several hundreds of thousands years before present. The instrument will support Quaternary investigations of the timing and extent of past glaciations and subsequent retreat and the influence of past climate on plant and animal life and human evolution and distribution. The OSL lab will be the first of its kind in the state of New Mexico and will support experiential laboratory training for a student population dominated by Hispanic students. The NMHU OSL lab will serve researchers and students across the departments of Forestry, Environmental Geology, Chemistry, Biology, and Anthropology and will support national and international collaborations.
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