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Our group's research focuses on measuring and understanding the isotopic composition of small extraterrestrial samples. We utilize our in-house scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the one-of-a-kind Chicago Instrument for Laser Ionization, CHILI, in order to obtain high-resolution data of samples that are only micrometers in size. Our group is also part of the Chicago Center for Cosmochemistry.
WHAT WE DO
Some thirty-five years ago, a remarkable discovery was made at the University of Chicago: primitive meteorites contain genuine stardust. These tiny (<10 µm in diameter) grains of diamond, silicon carbide, graphite, and other refractory minerals condensed around dying stars (mostly red giant stars and supernovae), survived potentially destructive processes in the interstellar medium and during solar system formation, and can now be found in meteorites. These grains preserve an isotopic record of nucleosynthesis in individual stars. We are also interested in chronology and conditions of formation of the first objects to form in our solar system, so-called “CAIs”, which are small grains made of refractory minerals that are found in primitive meteorites.
In the last ten years, we have built a unique instrument at the University of Chicago, CHILI, which allows isotopic and chemical analysis with much higher sensitivity and lateral resolution than the previous techniques, as well as freedom from isobaric interferences. With CHILI, we have begun analyzing stardust, CAIs, and interstellar dust returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft and solar wind sampled and returned to Earth by the Genesis spacecraft. We are also interested in broader applications of CHILI in the earth and planetary sciences, where its strengths are in any problem requiring measurement of isotope or element ratios with high sensitivity and fine lateral resolution.
Identification of isotopic signatures in various grain types to determine their nucleosynthetic origin
Analysis of Solar Wind samples from the 2004 NASA Genesis mission using CHILI
Alternative technique for in-situ trace element analysis
Characterization of the elemental composition of the oldest materials in the Universe
Asteroid Samples
Asteroid Samples
Analysis of samples from asteroids Bennu & Ryugu returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission and Japan's Hayabusa2 mission
March 2023: Andrew Davis, Thomas Stephan, Julie Korsmeyer, and Andrew Regula attend the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference at The Woodlands, TX. Andrew Regula presents a poster with an update on CHILI's new femtosecond laser on iron meteorites and NIST SRM glass.
August 2022: Andrew Davis is announced as the 2023 recipient of the Leonard Medal at the 85th Annual Meteoritical Society Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. The Leonard Medal recognizes outstanding contributions to the science of meteoritics and closely allied fields, and is the highest honor granted by the Meteoritical Society.
August 2022: Andrew Davis, Thomas Stephan, and Julie Korsmeyer attend the 85th Annual Meteoritical Society Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Thomas gives an oral presentation during the Special Multi-Topic Session in Honor of Ed Scott.
August 2022: Hannah Bloom successfully defends her Masters thesis on the molybdenum, ruthenium, and barium isotopic composition in presolar graphite grains from the Murchison meteorite. Her research revealed some grains with anomalous isotopic signatures!
March-April 2022: Andrew Davis, Thomas Stephan, and Julie Korsmeyer attend the 2nd Genesis Virtual Workshop. Julie presents an update on using CHILI for the analysis of Genesis samples.
March 2022: The group attends the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, where Hannah Bloom gives an oral presentation, and Julie Korsmeyer and Andrew Regula give poster presentations.
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