This award provides approximately one-half the funding required to purchase an x-ray diffractometer system for the Department of Geological Sciences at Northwestern University. The University is committed to providing the remaining funds for the purchase. The Department is currently working on 20 active research projects that require analyses of the mineral content of rocks through x-ray diffraction techniques. The Department's current x- ray system dates back to 1965 and is no longer functional. Research projects that require the heavy use of a modern diffractometer include work in structural geology-tectonics, sedimentology, petrology, submarine geology and experimental geochemistry.
