Facilities March 16th, 2009
Computer Labs
COAS
The Environmental Computing Center contains several supercomputer-class machines, including SGI Altix, IBM P5, Sun and Apple workgroup Clusters. 20 Sun Enterprise-class file servers provide file, application, print, and scratch services. The digital media laboratory contains a variety of computers including SGI and Sun Unix workstations, Intel Pentium CPU-based PCs, and high-performance G5 Macintoshes. High-quality black-and-white and color printers are also located in the digital media laboratory. A CD-ROM mastering and etching device is available for producing CD-ROMs, as well as a digital slide-making station and scanners.
The visualization laboratory contains exceptional computing and video gear to produce data visualizations and complete video presentations of research projects. An advanced geographic information system (GIS) running on dedicated equipment is also available.
An extensive Gigibit installed network that connects computing equipment within COAS is linked externally for electronic communications and remote computing. In the COAS local network domain, 12 buildings are connected together via single mode optical-fiber cabling with high-speed routing and switching to the desktop. More than 2,000 devices are connected to this COAS network, along with laser printers and plotters. From this local network domain, COAS is connected to the OSU campus network, which in turn is connected to the Internet, where vast computing resources (such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and University of California-San Diego) can be accessed and world-wide electronic communication is possible.
COAS students can use scientific and productivity software applications and peripherals in three laboratories dedicated for student use. Unix, PC, and Macintosh platforms on approximately 30 machines are available, as well as laser printers. Students can also log on to the COAS computing facilities and to the Internet. Applications available in the student laboratories include common productivity applications for word processing, spreadsheets, and graphics, and more specialized software such as statistical analysis, compilers, and relational database management systems.
Department of Geosciences
Digital Earth is a teaching facility primarily for GIS, remote sensing, cartography, numerical analysis, and scientific visualization. The classroom is a facility of the OSU Department of Geosciences and is supported by the College of Science Information Network (COSINe).
The lab was originally funded by a NASA infrastructure grant to Sherm Bloomer (professor & Dean of Science) and Nick Pisias (professor & former associate dean of COAS). The grant provided $500,000 (matched with $82,000 from OSU) to build the classroom, as well as the Environmental Computing Center in Burt Hall. Digital Earth was renovated in 2005 using technology resource fee money.
Digital Earth is located in 210 Wilkinson Hall and is one of the most advanced teaching facilities on the Oregon State campus. Equipment includes HP Compaq dc7600 workstation ( 3.6 GHz, Pentium 4 processors, 4.0 Gb RAM, 150 Gb hard drives, 128 Mb video cards, 19″ flat panel monitors, 30 for students, 1 for instructor), HP Proliant ML 350 Server ( 6 Gb RAM, 1 TB disk space in a RAID configuration, 1 Gb network, 3.2 Mhz Xeon dual processors, 1 Gb of storage allocated per student; 2 licenses for MS SQL server), laser printers, plotters ( HP DesignJet 800 42″ Color Plotter, HP DesignJet 2500CP Plotter), data projector.
Separate computer labs for both undergraduate and graduate students are also available.
Coring Facility
The COAS marine geology group operates a facility for sampling the seafloor via coring and dredging. Available equipment includes large (4-inch diameter) and small (2.5-inch diameter) piston corers, gravity corers, box corers, and an eight-tube multi-corer. OSU coring technicians have been active in seagoing operations since 1971. One of two such national facilities with a broad range of coring capabilities, the OSU group will contract coring operations on any ship with appropriate wire and winch capabilities. Core description and archiving services are available from the OSU core repository. For information on current prices and equipment availability, contact Prof. Nick Pisias.
Cosmogenic Isotope Lab
The equipment in this lab includes, rock crusher and pulverizer, sieves and roe-tap, Franz magnetic separator, HF and perchloric acid hoods, laminar flow hood, ultrasonic baths, ion exchange columns, pan & high-precision analytic balance, ultra-pure water system, high-temperature crucible asher, multiple centrifuges, extensive Teflon and glassware sets. For more information you can contact the lab supervisors Ed Brook and Peter Clark or the student attendants Shaun Marcott and Jeremy Shakun.
Glacial Geology Lab
Ice Core Lab
Micromilling Lab
This lab is equipped with a New Wave Research microsampling device allowing high-resolution sampling of materials for isotopic or chemical analysis. Features include sub-micron stage resolution and positional accuracy, real-time video observation using an S-video color CCD video camera , sample height detection and tilt correction, 50 mm of computer-driven sample movement on X, Y and Z axes, open-stage architecture to accommodate larger samples, low-eccentricity, high-torque DC milling chuck with speeds from 1200 to 35000 rpm, precision tungsten-carbide milling tools for high spatial resolution. The micromill is mostly used for speleothem and otholiths sampling. For more information please contact Andy Ungerer or Licã Ersek.
Micropaleontology Lab
COAS maintains two micropaleontology laboratories that specialize in calcareous fossils such as benthic and planktic foraminifera (see Prof. Alan Mix for further information), and siliceous fossils such as radiolarians and diatoms (see Prof. Nick Pisias for further information). Each of these laboratories includes sample preparation facilities, a variety of microscopy and microphotography capabilities, and reference collections of fossil species.
Organic Geochemistry Labs
These laboratories are equipped for organic analyses to carry out sample preparation, bulk analyses, extraction, extract separation, pyrolysis, and compound characterization and structure elucidation. Bulk organic matter can be analyzed for elemental composition (CHNS), carbon isotope composition, and effects of pyrolytic (thermal) alteration. Organic compound mixtures that are extracted from samples are then characterized after suitable separation, derivatization, and quantitation by identification of homologous compound series and specific biomarker tracers. This is accomplished by various methods of chromatography and by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The lab is equipped with gas chromatographs and Hewlett-Packard 5971B-MSD GC-MS systems.
For more information, contact Profs. Fred Prahl or Bernd Simoneit.
OSU/COAS Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometer Facility
This regional facility is used extensively by OSU and COAS researchers, university and private researchers from throughout North America, and international researchers. The laboratory houses three gas-source isotope-ratio mass spectrometers with diverse inlet systems to study natural abundances of light stable isotopes in solids, liquids, and gases. For more information, contact Prof. Alan Mix.
OSU/COAS Marine Geology Sample Repository
COAS operates the Marine Geology Sample Repository, a 36,000 cubic foot refrigerated sediment core archive and processing laboratory, as a national facility. The repository contains over 5,000 deep-sea sediment cores collected from all major ocean basins; rock samples from more than 500 dredges, ALVIN dives or ROV tows; 2,200 manganese nodules; 1,500 sediment trap samples; and nearly 700 plankton tow samples. Sediment and rock samples are available to qualified investigators. The laboratory includes core splitting, sampling, and photographic facilities in addition to gamma density, magnetic susceptibility and line-scan digital-imaging capabilities. Sample archiving and describing services, as well as use of the repository’s major analytical equipment, are available on a cost-recharge basis. For more information, contact Prof. Alan Mix.
W. M. Keck Collaboratory for Plasma Spectrometry
The W.M. Keck Collaboratory for Plasma Spectrometry has four plasma spectrometers: Nu Plasma multi-collector ICP-MS, VG Elemental Axiom SC high-resolution ICP-MS, VG Elemental ExCell quadrupole ICP-MS, and Varian Liberty 150 ICP-AES. Sampling devices include an excimer laser, ion chromatograph, custom-built shell-cleaning apparatus, and autosamplers. This instrumentation represents the preeminent emerging technology in inorganic elemental analysis. A diverse group of collaborating scientists can access a new, world-class chemical analysis facility (including a clean room), interactively generating, interpreting and sharing technology, data, and ideas. High-speed switching and routing hardware can deliver nearly 10 Gb/s to each office/lab and a classroom, making it possible for real-time interaction between remote users and the facility instruments. For more information on the W.M. Keck Collaboratory for Plasma Spectrometry, please contact Andy Ungerer, Collaboratory Manager, or Gary Klinkhammer, Collaboratory Director.