NSF Grant

MRI: Acquisition of an X-ray Diffraction Instrument: Developing an Interdisciplinary Research/Teaching X-ray Diffraction Laboratory

Principal Investigator: Dr. Keith Putirka
Co-PI: Dr. Zhi (Luke) Wang

The California State University , Fresno (CSUF) is one of the largest universities in the California State University system, and is currently the only prominent university, undergraduate or otherwise, in California 's Central Valley . As such, we hold the primary responsibility for training scientists in what is perhaps the most rapidly growing region in the state. Central to the mission of CSUF is to support faculty research, and to train students to address the myriad of environmental and agricultural problems that face the residents of the San Joaquin Valley . But while access to analytical instrumentation is clearly vital to such efforts, the university currently lacks a working X-ray diffraction facility. Researchers throughout the university, who require the ability to identify fine-grained crystalline materials greatly feel this gap in analytical capabilities. We thus request funds for a powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) instrument, and related accessories for sample preparation. An XRD would support an extremely diverse set of research projects at CSU Fresno and CSU Stanislaus, many of which pertain to urgent air and water quality issues in the central valley region. The range of research projects include 1) issues in regional geology, volcanology and metamorphic petrology, 2) the identification of asbestiform minerals related to construction projects, 3) igneous barometery and the refinement of unit cell parameters of clinopyroxenes, 4) the study of soil mechanics and soil contamination through the analysis of clay minerals and gypsum mineral fractions in agricultural soil samples, 5) problems in groundwater flow, and the relationship between mineralogy and clay fraction on flow-rates and mode of water transport through soils, and 6) the analysis of dust particles produced from dairy operations, that are now recognized as a significant health hazard in regard to air quality. A powder XRD will also provide valuable research experiences for CSU Fresno and CSU Stanislaus students. Students are attracted to the sciences when they participate in research with practical applications, and when such work involves the use of technical instruments. Basic XRD techniques are very easy to learn, and would allow both undergraduates and M.S. students to participate in any number of problems of great concern to central valley residents. XRD activities will be incorporated into several existing courses at CSUF, and our existing course, Crystallography (GEOL 13), will be transformed into a multi-disciplinary, hands-on laboratory course (to be renamed: “X-ray methods in the Material Sciences”). The new course will include experimental components involving solid-state physics, agricultural sciences and forensics, as well as some traditional applications in geology and mineralogy. Laboratory exercises will be selected from various research projects.

The broader impacts of this instrument acquisition are considerable. First, it will add desperately needed technical instrumentation to a rapidly growing region in CA. The proposed instrument will complement our new X-ray fluorescence lab, and the ICP-MS and stable isotope labs that are expected to become operative by summer, 2004. Second, the XRD will establish several exciting research linkages between at least three different departments at CSU Fresno and the “Physics and Geology” department of CSU Stanislaus (both Universities are designated as “Hispanic Serving”). Acquisition of the requested XRD instrument is critical to furthering our research capabilities and realizing our student recruitment goals.