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	GEO 5353 Course

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Course Description
	This course aims to familarize students with the physics behind and instrumentation of electron microprobe analysis and to train students to use the JEOL 8900 "Super Probe" Electron Probe Microanalyzer. The course, however, is not simply about "button pushing" and "knob turning" -- the course is called Electron Microprobe Theory and Practice. Topics include beam generation, electron lenses, specimen preparation, electron-specimen interactions, X-ray generation, energy-dispersive and wavelength-dispersive spectrometry, matrix correction methods, and other relevant topics. We will also cover the history and development of electron microprobe analysis, engineering and design, applications in different fields, and philosophy of science as it relates to scientific instruments like the microprobe. There are two components to this course: lectures and labs. All students attend both lectures and labs for 3 credits. There is no lab-only or lecture-only option. The number of students in the course is limited to 12 (four students in each of three lab sections), so students who intend to take the course are encouraged to register early.

Course Philosophy
	This course is not an applied math course. Instead, the lectures and weekly readings are intended to develop a conceptual and semi-quantitative understanding of the principles and instrumentation of electron microprobe analysis. The aim is to use problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, not differential equations, when doing an analysis. Students will find that, in both lectures and readings, "descriptions" of relevant phenomena will involve actual descriptions as well as illustrations, not triple integrals. This does not mean we will not consider equations in this course; however, their relationships and practical implications will be stressed. This course emphasizes the concepts so, when one is interested in the mathematical details, one can have a firm foundation on which to build. The history and development of the electron microprobe analysis has practical consequences today, and the philosophy of science as it relates to scientific instruments is a subject too often overlooked in courses such as this one.

Prerequisites
	The only prerequisites are one year of physics and/or chemistry. These prerequisites can be waived with the instructor's consent. Coursework in geology is helpful but not required -- students from Physics, Materials Science, Archaeology, Soil Science, and other departments have successfully completed this course. Individuals who intend to use the electron microprobe for their research are strongly encouraged to take the course.

Class Schedule
	Spring 2007 - Preliminary Schedule Lecture: Thursdays from 12:20 to 1:25 Lab Section 1: Thursdays from 8:00 to 9:45 Lab Section 2: Thursdays from 10:10 to 11:55 Lab Section 3: Thursdays from 1:40 to 3:25 Lab Room: 20A Pillsbury Classroom: 105 Pillsbury

Required Texts
	There is no actual textbook because no one book covers electron microprobe analysis at the correct level for the course. Instead, there is a course packet, available at the Coffman Bookstore, composed of chapters from a number of books as well as journal articles. The reading workload is between 25 and 45 pages each week.

Evaluation Methods
	There are no "problem sets" or weekly written assignments. Instead, students are responsible for reading the assigned chapters from the course packet; the weekly readings are between 25 and 45 pages. There are two quizzes, a mid-semester exam, and a final exam. On exams and quizzes, students will answer essay and short-answer questions, label illustrations and charts, and use critical-thinking skills. Grad students are required to do three article critiques. All students take a lab practical exam during the last week of class. Students are individually given a specimen to characterize during a two-hour session using a strategy of their choosing and demonstrating skills learned in lab.

Content published on this Web Site is copyright the University of Minnesota Regents, the Electron Microprobe Laboratory, and/or the laboratory's users. Some content (particularly analyses and images of specimens) represents the intellectual property of laboratory users. Reproduction or distribution without permission is prohibited. Site content is available for educational and informational uses only, provided that the content is unmodified and that permission is granted by the author and/or the laboratory manager.
Geoarchaeology Archaeological Geology Geoarchaeology Archaeological Geology Obsidian Provenancing Obsidian Sourcing Obsidian Sourcing Obsidian Provenancing Electron Microprobe Analysis in Archaeology Electron Probe Microanalysis in Archaeology Electron Microprobe Analysis in Archaeology Electron Probe Microanalysis in Archaeology Petroarchaeology Petrography in Archaeology Petroarchaeology Petrography in Archaeology