ICAL's Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope produces an exciting find for Nancy Equall, standing; Kamlynn Thomas, left; and Melody Bergeron.

"It's an incredible lab for Montana. I can't say enough good about it," said Dick Berg, an expert on Montana sapphires and senior research geologist with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, a department of Montana Tech.

Berg has used ICAL since its inception to help him identify the source and composition of sapphires. By examining minerals on the surface of sapphires and the chemical composition of those minerals, he can tell if a sapphire comes from the Butte/Deer Lodge area or Rock Creek west of Philipsburg. The images Equall gives him are so good that he used them in at least five recent publications or projects, Berg said.

Equall said sapphires and fossils are among her favorite items to scan. Among the most unusual have been ear stones from fish, a slime-covered wrench and buckets of goo. Potential clients who want to learn about ICAL see print-outs showing images of bacteria on an ant, slime from a Yellowstone National Park spring and the surface of salmonella.

"People come in here with certain expectations," Equall commented. "People usually go away thrilled. That's probably the best thing."

ICAL is devoted to education, service and in-house research, so its clients range from MSU faculty and students to public and private users from around Montana and across the United States. MSU-based clients come from the Center for Bio-Inspired Nanomaterials, Thermal Biology Institute, and departments from biology to engineering. Approximately 200 undergraduate students use the lab every year for research projects, K-12 outreach and class demonstrations.

National clients come from the American Museum of Natural History, the Johnson Space Center, the Carnegie Institute of Washington, and the Idaho National Laboratory. ICAL's Montana clients include Arcomac, Big Sky Laser and Luzenac America, to name a few.

Mogk, the geology professor who helped analyze Antarctic samples, said most companies couldn't afford to buy all the equipment or hire the personnel they find at ICAL. "But they can come here, solve a problem and go back to work in the corporate world, which is a huge benefit.

"The great thing about the lab is you can start an experiment on one instrument and then either verify or confirm it with another instrument on the same sample on the same day just by walking across the lab," Mogk added.

Schweitzer did exactly that on the day she and Equall were examining dinosaur fragments. Taking a break from the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, Schweitzer crossed the room to check other fragments in petri dishes. She had added organic acid to the fossils and wanted to see how much of the minerals remained.

"These are all tools," Schweitzer said, pointing to the instruments around the room. "It's the way analytical research is going. This facility provides us with the opportunity to provide our students with time on state-of-the-art equipment, and helps students at MSU to be competitive with anyone out there."

Schweitzer admitted she could have easily stayed in North Carolina and analyzed her fossils there. But returning to Montana every summer allows her to visit the sites that produce her fossils and work along side people she has known for years. Schweitzer said ICAL scientists not only know how to operate their sophisticated instruments, but they analyze what they see, suggest alternate approaches and develop new techniques. She trusts them.

"I'm very confident of the results I can get from this institution," Schweitzer said.

Mary Schweitzer was the featured expert for PBS/Nova in July.
John Priscu/Antarctic research
Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology

Return to regular view	Text-only              Email this article	Published: 11/27/2007