This award will partially support the 5th Biennial Geochemical SIMS Workshop (BGSW5) on June 13-15, 2008 at the UW Conference Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison. As for the first 4 BGSWs (Los Angeles, 1996; Woods Hole, 1998; Tempe, 2001; Los Angeles, 2005), the PI's will bring together scientists and students from the nation's geological SIMS laboratories, instrument manufacturers, and other interested personnel to discuss the state of the art of SIMS microbeam analysis techniques and scientific results. The 2.5 year gap since BGSW4; the recent technological developments of SIMS instruments (IMS-1280, nanoSIMS, IMS-7f GEO); and the installation of new labs (Hawaii, Caltech, Virginia Tech) makes this meeting overdue. One result of these developments is enhanced precision of measurement for isotope ratios and burgeoning interest in SIMS by the stable isotope community.
The BGSW is of great importance to the national geochemistry community since it represents the only regular meeting of researchers from geochemically-oriented SIMS labs in the United States. These facilities are vital for developing new geochemical SIMS applications and providing access and expertise to scientists from across the country who require SIMS capabilities in carrying out own research. As in past meetings, the PI's will make a particular effort to allow students and recent PhD's to participate in the BGSW meeting.
