Congratulations to Professor Doug Allen, Department of Geological Sciences, Salem State College, Salem, MA, on receiving an Innov-X Research Grant Award. His research project, X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of Metal Contamination in the North River Drainage Basin, is being carried out in Peabody, MA. Prof. Allen says that "Due to more than 200 years of heavy industrial use and urbanization in this area, the basin could be at risk of biologically harmful metal contamination. An analysis will be made on the metal concentrations of sediments found. With the results from this study, biological effects range guidelines can be implemented in order to estimate adverse biological effects to the North River Drainage Basin."
Portable XRF provides fast and simple in-situ elemental analysis of Mg through U, from PPM to high percentage levels. In a matter of seconds, it allows simultaneous measurements of up to 25 elements. The Innov-X Academic Relations Program encourages and supports research into applications where insitu XRF measurements expand or enhance a knowledge base. It puts the power of portable XRF in researchers' hands allowing them to take it to the field, where it really counts. Innov-X Academic Research Grants include the loan of an analyzer, technical training and/or consultation, and sponsorship at a technical conference to present the research findings.
