Project 7:
Students will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of small projects that fit within this larger research effort. The projects I would anticipate students to be involved in relate to sample preparation for mass spectrometry microanalysis of the minerals zircon, titanite and monazite to determine ages and trace element chemistry. Along with collecting data on the mass spectrometer and then presenting these results and their interpretations in a poster presentation.
Sample preparation consists of using NAU’s Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to collect back-scatter secondary electron (BSE) imaging of polished sections and identification of the minerals using an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) detector. Along with crushing rocks and following a series of procedures to separate out zircons. The mass spectrometer data collection will likely be a 4-5 day trip to UCSB where data is collected continuously over this time. I anticipate 6 hours of work per week on average, but this could vary depending on the part of the research they are conducting.
The students will create a poster presentation of their work to present at the undergraduate research symposium and possibly a Geological Society of America conference. The mentors of this project will take all of the work collected by the undergraduates and write up a manuscript for publication, including the undergraduates as coauthors.