I am a visiting research scientist at the University of New Mexico’s Institute of Meteoritics (IOM). Founded in 1944, the IOM was the first institution in the world devoted to the study of meteorites, and its collection now holds more than 2,000 meteorites, including samples of the Moon and Mars. Its microbeam laboratory shares Northrop Hall with the Center for Stable Isotopes, so a meteorite can be imaged and analyzed for its mineral chemistry, then measured for its isotopes, all from the same material.

Capabilities

• A research collection of more than 2,000 meteorites, including lunar and martian samples
• Electron microprobe (JEOL 8200, five wavelength-dispersive spectrometers) and scanning electron microscope (Tescan Vega 3, with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and color cathodoluminescence) for mineral chemistry, imaging, and X-ray maps of whole thin sections
• Ion microprobe (SIMS), mass spectrometry, high-pressure, gas-mixing, and mineral separation laboratories
• Stable isotope measurements through the Center for Stable Isotopes
• The Meteorite Museum, open to the public in Northrop Hall