Dr. Gregory Dumond is awarded an NSF Earth Science Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Dumond will develop a technique to determine the age of different sections of a mineral grain by measuring uranium and lead isotopes in zircons and monazites, for example. Dr. Dumond will take micrometer size samples of mineral grains using a focused ion beam and then he will determine the isotope composition using a thermal ionization mass spectrometer. The new method will allow scientists to quantify the age of different sections of the mineral grains in a precise matter to link mineral growth episodes to geologic conditions and processes deep within the earth?s crust.
In addition, Dr. Dumond will be work closely with graduate students at different stages of their career. He will lead graduate level seminars and classes on the chemical evolution of continents and on tools that are used to study this evolution (e.g. isotopes and computer models).
