Excitement is mounting in the College of Geosciences as its new, $1.9 million Radiogenic Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory takes shape. Construction of the facility in the Michel T. Halbouty Geosciences Building began in October, but the project has been in the planning phase for over four years.

“This is a tremendous step forward,” said Dean of Geosciences Björn Kjerfve. “This state-of-the-art inter-disciplinary research and teaching laboratory will elevate geochemistry at TAMU into the top tier of U.S. universities, bringing us that much closer to achieving the goals of Vision 2020.” 

The radiogenic lab became reality thanks to R. Ken Williams ’45 of Midland who has committed over $1.6 million to this project to date and continues to contribute annually to the endowment. 

“Ken’s commitment to this is just fantastic,” Kjerfve said. “A number of people put a great deal of effort into planning the facility, but without the support of a private donor like Ken, it couldn’t have happened. Through this endowment – a fund that provides continuous income – the maintenance and overall performance of this lab to the required level of excellence in ensured.” 

The Radiogenic Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory will be used for interdisciplinary research and teaching in marine geology and global tectonics. The facility will contain clean and ultra clean chemistry laboratories categorized as class 1000 and class 100 respectively, a mass spectrometry lab, a sample preparation lab, a facility work room and technician office, and two faculty offices. The chemistry laboratories will allow contamination-free chemical preparation of samples for analyses of heavy isotopes such as uranium, thorium, lead, samarium-neodymium, rhenium-osmium, and strontium. The mass spectrometry lab will initially house a new Thermo Scientific Triton thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS) with space to accommodate two additional instruments – a high-resolution, inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (HR-ICPMS) with a laser ablation system (proposal pending) and a multi-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICPMS).

Acquisition of an HR-ICPMS will enhance and diversify the research plans of several principal investigators’ current work and will benefit at least 10 faculty members in five different departments and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) in future research. The lab instrumentation will serve the research needs of a broad range of disciplines, including tectonics, geochronology, paleoceanography, climate change and environmental geochemistry. 

The principal investigators currently associated with the lab are Drs. Franco Marcantonio, Associate Professor in Geology & Geophysics, Brent Miller, Assistant Professor in Geology & Geophysics, and Debbie Thomas, Assistant Professor in Oceanography. They will oversee lab operations, maintenance, training and safety. 

“This facility will position the College of Geosciences and the University to be a leader in geochronology, environmental and climate change research,” said Dr. Ethan Grossman, Acting Executive Associate Dean and Associate Dean for Research. “The size and scope of this effort puts us on par with some of the best isotope geochemistry programs in the country. The facility is designed for use by three or more principal investigators with at least five or six students working in the lab, and it can accommodate at least five or six other faculty for occasional use.”  

"It is our goal," Grossman added, “to make graduate and undergraduate education an indispensable part of the lab. Once operational, this state-of-the-art facility will attract the best faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students to the College."