Dr. Warner Cribb

cribb@mtsu.edu

Dr. Ron Zawislak

Geography and Geology

N/A

KOM 102C

Upgrade of Existing Technology

N/A

The MTSU X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) Lab provides elemental analysis service and support to MTSU students in both the physical and social sciences. Although all student users are asked to pay a per sample fee for basic XRF operating expenses, few students have adequate research funds to cover basic laboratory costs. Nevertheless, the Department of Geography and Geology does not deny use of the XRF facilities to those students who cannot pay the laboratory charges. In such cases, XRF costs are covered with funds from the Department's general operating budget. This proposal requests funds to support annual software and hardware updates/support associated with the Oxford Instruments MDX 1080+ x-ray fluorescence spectrometer in the MTSU XRF Lab. Funding of the proposal will allow the Department of Geography and Geology to contract with Oxford Instruments Inc. for continued spectrometer hardware and software support for a period of one year. Specifically, the Department will receive spectrometer software updates and/or new software versions, as well as complete on-site spectrometer service by Oxford Instruments engineers. The latter benefit is especially important, as it will help the Department to continue operating the XRF lab as an ‘open facility', without having to cover potential repair costs from the Department's operating budget. An additional benefit is that during on-site visits the Oxford Instruments engineers will be able provide MTSU students with hands-on XRF maintenance experience. Although the number of undergraduate and graduate students using the MTSU XRF lab is relatively small (approximately 20 per year), the lab's analytical capabilities are important in a variety of academic disciplines. For example, the lab recently has been utilized for student research in soil chemistry, archaeology, cultural geography, volcanology, and materials science. Funding of this proposal will help the Department of Geography and Geology to continue offering XRF analytical services to all MTSU students, regardless of student ability to pay laboratory charges