Acquisition of an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer for high-throughput major and trace element analysis of aqueous solutions

This award will provide funds to purchase a new Agilent 5900 Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) for the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT). The new instrument is replacing an outdated/obsolete ICP-OES. In addition to funding for the new instrument, the award will also support a new outreach program to educate students about their local water resources.

The Program is designed to broaden participation – implementing a two-year high school program that supports Next Generation Science Standards in Socorro County public schools, which also supports Hispanic and Native American populations.

Acquisition of a new ICP-OES supports the ongoing mission of the Bureau of Geology and will support several new long-term research and outreach projects. Recently hired faculty and researchers affiliated with the Bureau of Geology and NMT are establishing programs to address the increasing need for rare earth elements (REE) in electronics and the national power supply, changing demands on water resources sustainability and water quality, and the urgent need to develop carbon capture and sequestration.

The instrumentation will also support new research in ecology, environmental chemistry, chemomechanics and plasmonics nanoresearch.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.