This grant supports acquisition of an x-ray diffractometer (XRD) with advanced capabilities to permit rapid phase identification and crystallographic structural analysis of a range of sample sizes (down to nanometer sized crystals via requested microdiffraction capabilities) and using a range of x-ray intensities. The XRD would replace an extant but antiquated (25 yrs old) XRD in the Department of Geosciences at Georgia State University (GSU). The new XRD will support a range of PI and collaborative research including studies of: 1) the 137Cs sorption potential of clay minerals at the DOE Savannah River Site ; 2) paleoclimatological and paleoanthropological investigations of East African Rift ancestral lake sediments recovered from an International Continental Drilling Project that rely on authigenic clay mineral identification to elucidate paleoenvironmental conditions; and 3) investigations of the pedogenesis of volcanic tephras, to name a few. The XRD will support undergraduate and graduate education and will be incorporated into a distance learning course developed by the PI that seeks to engage both K-12 teachers students statewide. The PI is an early career investigator.
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This project has successfully acquired, installed, and brought online a state of the art X-ray diffraction facility at Georgia State University for use in Earth Science education and research. The project acquired a Panalytical XPERT PRO Multi-Purpose X-ray Diffractometer, with several unique accessories, including accessory mirrors for special applications in non-destructive analysis, analysis of small volumes of samples, and analysis of materials with low crystallinity. The XRD facility was used in a pilot outreach effort involving K-12 teachers across Georgia as part of PI Deocampo's distance learning teaching in summer, 2013. Teachers who were registered in his class on "Geologic Resources and the Environment" collected samples and submitted them for analysis, which was shared virtually with students via live online access. The XRD has already directly contributed to studies of clay mineral adsorption of contaminants, Cu and Fe nanoparticles, limnogeology, and other areas. Two students have already graduated with MS degrees using the XRD, and another two are nearing completion. The XRD is now supporting the efforts of NSF-supported International Continental Drilling Project efforts in East Africa, with thousands of samples now being selected at the National Lacustrine Core Repository (LacCore) for analysis at our facility. These results will contribute to our understanding of environmental change in East Africa and globally over the past several million years.
