This award provides one-half the funding required for the acquisition of an X-ray diffractometer system to be installed and operated in the Department of Geology at the George Washington University. The University is committed to providing the remaining funds needed. The new X-ray diffractometer will replace an obsolete twenty- year old unit. The characterization of materials by X-ray diffraction is a routine requirement in the research projects and teaching curricula of the departments of Geology, Chemistry and Forensic Sciences, as well as the School of Civil, Mechanical and Environmental Engineering and the Materials Sciences Section at George Washington University. The X-ray diffractometer will also be accessible to regional users including undergraduate students from the University of the District of Columbia and research groups from the Smithsonian Institution.
