The National Science Foundation Office of Integrative Activities awarded $292,174 to South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on January 1, 2027, under the EPSCOR Research Fellows program to support experimental research on orthopyroxene/melt trace element partitioning at upper mantle conditions.
The award funds a fellowship for an associate professor and graduate student training at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in collaboration with Anne Pommier at Carnegie Institution for Science. The research will experimentally document phase stability and trace element partitioning of low-calcium pyroxene species under conditions applicable to Earth's and Mars's upper mantles. Specific objectives include constraining trace element partitioning behavior in melts crystallizing low-calcium pyroxenes, documenting low-calcium pyroxene stability in refractory mantle domains on both planets, and training on reconstruction and calibration of a piston cylinder press for high-pressure experimentation. Results will provide experimental constraints for numerical models of terrestrial planetary mantle evolution and advance understanding of volcanism mechanisms and critical mineral distribution and recycling. The work also establishes high-pressure experimental infrastructure at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and builds graduate student capacity in high-pressure research techniques.
Performance period runs from January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2028, with place of performance at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Washington, DC 20015.