9406258 Carlson This grant provides partial support for the acquisition of a high-resolution, X-ray, computed tomography (CT) scanner for innovative, sub- millimeter scale studies of metamorphic textures, vertebrate paleontology and physical anthropology at the University of Texas-Austin. Recent advances in high resolution CT instruments, especially with regard to X-ray focusing and modular detector design, together with sophisticated image processing software developed for cross-platform usage, will allow unprecedented, high resolution, non-destructive 3- D imaging of many geologic materials for which digital will be available both rapidly and in formats that are readily exchangeable. These data will be made available for interested researchers both interdepartmentally as well regionally and further afield. This facility will allow analysis of a wide range of geologic materials of greatly varying sample size and thus has great potential for new advances in metamorphic petrology and invertebrate paleontology that will available to academic researchers at costs which will be substantially below commercially available, high resolution CT instrument time. ***
