International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Research Applications and Utilization of Accelerators
|
|
|
SM/AE-02 An Undergraduate Ion Beam Analysis Laboratory G.F. Peaslee1, P.A. DeYoung2 1Chemistry Department, Hope College, Holland, Michigan, United States of America Corresponding Author: peaslee@hope.edu Hope College (in Holland, Michigan) purchased a 1.7 MV tandem pelletron with nuclear microprobe capability with funding from the US National Science Foundation in 2004. The purpose of this facility is to perform publishable research in a variety of applied fields, and to provide educational opportunities and sophisticated technical training for undergraduates that will enter the workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Hope College has two senior investigators with experience in nuclear science and expertise with accelerators, and an institution with approximately 3200 undergraduates. The college also has a rich history of involving undergraduates in research and producing future Ph.D. scientists. The facility was installed and commissioned in October, 2004 and since that time hundreds of separate ion beam analysis experiments have been performed in fields as diverse as solid state physics, biochemistry, forensic science, electrochemistry, environmental science, mineralogy and palaeontology. Over 90% of the work has involved on-campus collaborations between different faculty members, and there are already over 50 different undergraduate research students that have been involved in ion beam analysis research. There are six manuscripts published or in press from this facility, with more than two dozen undergraduate co-authors. During the first four years, the facility has been operated entirely with undergraduates and a single technician who was trained to help maintain the facility. We have recently added a post-doctoral fellow to our research group to help with the large number of students that are interested in the research projects that have become possible with the new ion beam analysis facility. A brief tour of our facility and an overview of some of the successful research projects will be presented, plus some insights into best operating practices we have learned for maintaining a productive an ion beam analysis facility at an undergraduate institution.
|
