This award provides one-half the funding for the acquisition of an x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer system that will be operated and maintained in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah. The University is committed to providing the remaining half of funds necessary. Chemical analysis of rocks and minerals is an integral requirement of several research projects in the Department, and the XRF technique is one of the standard methods for obtaining accurate multi-element analyses. The new spectrometer will be replacing an obsolete system put together in the 1960s.
