The Florida Planets Lab

The crew working on the renovations of Williamson Hall 106, the future Experimental Geochemistry Lab, has finally gotten all of the vibration-isolating concrete left over from the days of this room as a micro-Kelvin physics lab broken up and out of the lab! The next steps are to finish the demo of all of the old piping and wiring, and finalize the placement of the piston-cylinders (they’ll be along that back wall) and the Deltech furnace so that the electrical and cooling water infrastructure can be installed. The lab will obviously be be getting a new coat of paint, new floor, lights, cabinets, etc. Slowly but sure, we’re getting there…

The Planetary Geochemistry Group has opportunities for highly motivated students seeking graduate degrees with an emphasis in Planetary Petrology and Geochemistry. Potential projects cover a wide range of topics including geochemical, mineralogical, and isotopic studies of planetary differentiation and core formation, the origin and evolution of the Moon’s crust and mantle, and the origins of planetary magmas. Students would join a group that utilizes experimental petrology in the newly established Experimental Geochemistry Lab, microbeam studies of meteorites and Apollo samples, and non-traditional stable isotope geochemistry to answer questions about these topics. The Department of Geological Sciences at UF is well-equipped with a wide array of instrumentation and resources available for these studies.

PhD and MSc positions are available as early as Fall 2019. For more information, please contact me (Prof. Stephen Elardo; selardo@ufl.edu) with a C.V. and a brief description of research interests and experience.

The first shipment of parts for our two new end-loaded piston cylinders arrived today from Rockland Research Corp! This first shipment contains the four pressure vessels, which contain the high-pressure experiments and keep them at the high pressures of planetary interiors. This also contains the stack components for the piston cylinders, which are all of the spacers and alignment pieces that ensure that everything stays straight and where its supposed to be. There will be a number of future deliveries before we’re ready to go. Next up will be the automatic temperature and pressure control systems before the presses themselves arrive later!

The brand new Experimental Geochemistry Lab is going to be an awesome facility where we can conduct a wide range of experiments, but the space that it’s going into needs more than a little work. The lab space in Williamson hall was formerly occupied by a low-temperature physics lab, part of the larger Microkelvin research facilities operated by the UF Department of Physics. Soon it be home to two Rockland Research Corp. piston cylinders and a Deltech Furnaces 1800 °C controlled atmosphere furnace, along with all of the other equipment that usually goes into an experimental petrology lab. The staff in the Geological Sciences Department started renovations on the lab recently and one of the first steps is to remove the solid concrete wall and pillars that isolated the old physics experiments from vibrations. We’ll be getting a complete reno, with a new floor, coat or two of paint, lights, and new bench space. The reno will probably go past the new calendar year, but I fully expect the lab and experimental equipment to be up and running for next year when, hopefully, the lab group will be growing!

Today marks my first day on the faculty in the Department of Geological Sciences at UF, so today is also the first day for the UF Planetary Geochemistry group! Obviously the group is just me at this point, but I’m looking for new members! If you are a student looking for grad school opportunities in petrology, geochemistry, and planetary science and think we would be a good fit together, send me an email with your CV and a brief description of your research interests and why you’d like to join the group. I’m looking for potential MSc and PhD students to start as early as Fall 2019. Click here for more info on the UF Geology graduate program and how to apply.