Our proposal to the National Science Foundation for the purchase of a quadrupole ICP mass spectrometer was recently funded. This instrument, coupled with a laser ablation solid sampling system, will be the workhorse facility for trace element data collection in my laboratory. This instrument will be housed in the 'all-new' renovation of the 7th floor of the Jone's Physical Sciences Center (to be completed spring semester, 2004).

Other important facilities at USC include the Cameca SX50 electron microprobe and two new FEI scanning electron microscopes (Quanta 200 and XL30 ESEMs). These instruments are managed under the university's Electron Microscopy Center, which is located in the basement of the building complex that houses the USC Department of Geological Sciences.