My Research and Expertise

My current research interests center on the mineralogy geochemistry, petrology, and origin of the Grenville age (late Precambrian) Franklin and Sterling Hill zinc-iron-manganese orebodies and associated Franklin marble. Study of these deposits involves microprobe chemical analysis, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and polarized light microscopy (PLM). I have also described a number of new minerals and studied chemical variation within mineral groups, as well as determined the atomic structures of several minerals by single crystal x-ray diffraction.

In addition to the tools and techniques listed above I have used data from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), proton induced X-ray excitation spectroscopy (PIXE), and optical absorption spectroscopy.

I have published a number of papers on the chemical and structural variations of vesuvianite, a mineral related to grossular garnet, but more complex, and I have a couple of minor projects underway at present.

The Department of Geology has recently automated its x-ray diffractometer to create digital data sets of the diffraction patterns of samples. These data sets can be read, refined, and manipulated by computer software which we also acquired. Although we are still learning how to operate the system, I anticipate that it will be valuable for research in a number of areas: identification of unknowns, including mixtures; characterization of clay-rich sediments and sedimentary rocks, using the curve-fitting program Shadow; characterization of other rocks using Shadow or a Reitveld pattern fitting program Riquas; refinement of the atomic structures of feldspars and other minerals by the Reitveld method. I will keep you posted of our progress and our research.

Click here for bibliography

I am interested also in the application of these techniques to the study of art objects, particularly objects of ceramic, stone, and glass materials.

As curator of the University Mineral Museum, I am in charge of fund raising, acquisitions, and management of an internationally recognized small museum. I have done a lot of cleaning, repair, and restoration (conservation) of display specimens and written on the subject.

Other Expertise:

I am a registered professional geologist in the State of Delaware (#376) and I have done consulting in mineralogy for a number of firms. I have used the tools of mineralogy and petrology to characterize the minerals in industrial work, fire damaged concrete, and asbestos bearing materials. I am familiar with the theoretical aspects of the use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in the identification of asbestos.

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