Research Facilities
UBC has a full range of equipment for studying problems in mineralogy, crystallography, and geochemistry. Below are short descriptions of some of the equipment and facilities available for mineralogical research at UBC.
The Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences has Bruker D8 Endeavor and D8 Advance powder X-ray diffractometers.
My students and I are also major users of the X-ray equipment in the Department of Chemistry. This includes a Bruker D8 Venture single-crystal diffractometer with two high intensity DIAMOND II micro sources (Ag and Cu) and a Photon III detector; a Bruker Apex DUO single-crystal diffractometer with Mo and Cu sources; a Malvern-Panalytical Empyrean 3 multi-purpose powder diffractometer; and Bruker D8 Advance and Discover powder diffractometers. The DUO and Discover diffractometers are equipped for in situ variable temperature experiments.
The Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences has a Hitachi SU3900 scanning electron microscope with dual Bruker XFlash7 30 mm2 SDD-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometers and cathodoluminescence capabilities. It also has a state-of-the-art JEOL JXA-iHP200F field emission electron microprobe with five wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometers and dual Bruker XFlash6 30 mm2 SDD-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometers.
My students and I are occasional users of PCIGR, the Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research, NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) facilities in the Department of Chemistry, research facilities at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, and the neutron diffraction facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.