The grant supports the purchase of new, state-of-the-art equipment that has never before been offered to students by the university. It also covers equipment maintenance, supplies, and student research for the facility, named the Signal Hill Petroleum Environmental Geochemistry Lab, which has already opened to students.
“We are proud to be a supporter of this university and investing in our community,” said Debra Russell, director of Business Development and Community Relations at Signal Hill Petroleum.
According to Dr. Matt Becker, professor and Conrey Endowed chair of Hydrogeology at CSULB, the new instruments include a spectrofluorometer, which has recently been used by students to measure chemical diffusion into bedrock, an ion chromatograph, considered to be “the workhorse of environmental water chemistry labs,” as well as other instruments used for low-temperature geochemical analyses. The cost alone for the ion chromatograph is upwards of $100,000, according to Becker.
“The laboratory will be a shared space where both undergraduate and graduate students can analyze water and geologic samples with state-of-the-art equipment,” Becker said. “The gift will also provide funding for supplies and travel for students conducting research.”
The lab comprises two rooms for a combined 604 square feet that can accommodate up to six students at one time.
Geology is not only important to the mineral and fossil fuel industries, like crude oil, iron and aluminum, but to understanding how the Earth impacts our infrastructure, and there are jobs available in this field, according to Signal Hill Petroleum. The number of geoscience jobs is expected to increase by 22 percent by 2016, more than double the projected growth rate for all occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The number of students graduating with degrees in science-related fields has grown significantly over the past decade, according to CSULB President F. King Alexander. Last year, CSULB awarded 3,100 science-based degrees.
