Vibrational Spectroscopy Lab:  Prof. Barbara Walden

Raman spectrometer: Computer control and central chamber.		Laser source and detectors.
Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are used to study the composition and phase of a wide variety of materials.

---

   

Nuclear Counting Lab: Prof. Al Howard "Measurements of Radon and Thoron Concentrations in Environmental Air" A high-precision research facility exists for the measurement of radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn) concentrations present in air. One research project involves a survey of radon concentrations as a function of local physical sites (buildings on campus). A second project is being planned to determine both the radon and thoron concentrations in air at one well-controlled site (a sealed room) as functions of time of day as well as time of year.

Optics Lab:  Prof. Mark Silverman

Room 117 McCook Building

Geophysics Lab:  Prof. Christoph Geiss

Room 103 McCook Building

I am interested in paleoclimate reconstructions and the application of rock-magnetic techniques to problems in the environmental sciences.

Potential student research projects include: a) the study of annually laminated sediments from southwestern Alaska to test for the influence of solar variability on valley glaciers at the end of the last glaciation (approx. 12,000 yrs B.P.) b) the quantification of dust deposition into Minnesota lakes during the Holocene (last 10,000 years) through chemical analysis of lake sediment samples c) magnetic analysis of modern sediments from a polluted site in CT to test whether simple rock-magnetic parameters can be used to map soil pollution.