Grant to Create World’s Most Advanced Lab Researching Star and Planet Formation and Evolution
(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) - The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation has received a $1.5 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to support the creation of a new cosmochemistry laboratory whose center piece will be a state-of-the-art ion microprobe. An ion microprobe is an instrument that allows not only determination of the trace element contents of microscopically small samples, but also their isotopic compositions. The instrument and laboratory will be located in the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at UH Mānoa. The laboratory will be amongst the most advanced of its kind in the world, enabling our internationally renowned scientists to work on problems such as the formation and evolution of stars, planets and the solar system.
Interdisciplinary research will be the heart of the cosmochemistry laboratory. Perhaps more than any other field, cosmochemistry is an interdisciplinary science connecting such fields as meteoritics, astrophysics, mineralogy, and isotope studies (through studies of interstellar grains), planetary geology, geophysics and petrology (through studies of lunar rocks and Martian meteorites), and studies of interstellar organic materials, early life on Earth, and geochemistry of Martian meteorites (through the new subdiscipline of astrobiology). The new ion microprobe will be the catalyst that ignites research among cosmochemists and astronomers to fuel studies of the origin of the solar system, including the Earth.
Commented UH Mānoa Chancellor Peter Englert, An award of this caliber by a prestigious institution, such as the W.M. Keck Foundation, highlights both the quality and range of research expertise at the university and is a testament to our growing reputation within the international scientific community.
Cosmochemistry focuses on laboratory analyses of meteorites, lunar samples, interplanetary dust particles, and interstellar grains, as well as experimental simulations of planetary, nebular, and circumstellar processes, and a great deal of what is known about the origin and evolution of extraterrestrial bodies is due to these efforts. The cosmochemistry program at the University of Hawaiʻi has direct connections with many current and planned spacecraft missions that will return samples, such as Genesis, Stardust, and Mars sample return missions. Equally important, though less direct, the program also provides information critical for the interpretation of remote sensing data. Moreover, the cosmochemistry program also addresses questions posed by materials derived from places where no spacecraft could ever go, such as into the deep interiors of stars or planets, or back in time.
The new laboratory will build on the success of the cosmochemistry program and open new doors of research. The university has made a concerted effort to foster the program over the years and will support the laboratory with a one-time $ 1 million commitment. In addition, acquisition of the ion microprobe for the laboratory was selected as one of seven proposals, out of a total of 17 submitted, approved for funding in 2004 through NASA’s Sample Return Laboratory Instruments and Data Analysis Program (SRLIDAP). This program will has provided an additional $ 1.4 million grant to support the new laboratory.
Dr. Klaus Keil, interim dean of SOEST, stated, With the funding for the Cameca ims 1280 ion microprobe secured, it will be possible for our research group to really make a quantum leap forward in the field of cosmochemistry. Keil added, We have a stellar group of core investigators and are particularly excited that we were able to add Dr. Gary Huss, formerly of Arizona State University, and Dr. Kazu Nagashima, formerly of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, both world-renowned experts in ion microprobe analysis and cosmochemistry, to our team.
# # #
About the W.M. Keck Foundation. Based in Los Angeles, the W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W. M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The Foundation’s grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science and engineering. The Foundation also maintains a program to support undergraduate science and humanities education and a Southern California Grant Program that provides support in the areas of health care, civic and community services, education and the arts, with a special emphasis on children.
About the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. The School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) was established by the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaiʻi in 1988. SOEST brings together in a single focused ocean, earth sciences and technology group, some of the nation’s highest quality academic departments, research institutes, federal cooperative programs, and support facilities to meet challenges in the ocean and earth sciences, including the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP). Scientists at SOEST are supported by both state and federal funds as they endeavor to understand the subtle and complex interrelations of the seas, the atmosphere, and the earth.
The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.
