Research
Our group uses samples returned to Earth by spacecraft (cometary and interstellar dust; the solar wind) and by nature (meteorites and interplanetary dust particles) to study the earliest history of the solar system as well as the nucleosynthesis of most of the chemical elements in stars through isotopic analysis.
The Chicago Instrument for Laser Ionization (CHILI) is our analytical instrument for isotopic analysis using resonance ionization mass spectrometry (RIMS) to selectively ionize certain elements.
The CHILI Lab currently manages the FIB-SEM facility in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, which features a TESCAN LYRA3 field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) with a focused ion beam (FIB) for imaging, mapping, and manipulation of small samples.
Identification of isotopic signatures in various grain types to determine their nucleosynthetic origin.
Analysis of Solar Wind samples of Solar Wind from the 2004 NASA Genesis mission using CHILI. With a femtosecond ablation laser and backside depth profiling to avoid contamination, we can utilize CHILI's unparalleled resolution to determine the elemental abundances of Solar Wind ions trapped within the collectors.
Developing an alternative technique for in-situ trace element analysis, using iron meteorites.
Characterization of the elemental composition of the oldest materials in the Universe.
Asteroid Samples
Analysis of samples from asteroids Bennu & Ryugu returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission and Japan's Hayabusa2 mission.