Sample Preparation Lab and Educational Resource Facility (SamPLER)
Facility Manager: Christina Lipper, Dana Hauschulz
Primary Contact: Christina.Lipper@colorado.edu, Dana.Hauschulz@colorado.edu
Co-Investigator(s): Alisha Clark, Kevin Mahan, Becky Flowers
Location: Benson 1b35
In the SamPLER lab, we separate minerals, make rock powders, cut rocks, construct grain mounts, and polish materials.
Major equipment in this facility includes
- the jaw crusher
- disc mill
- ball mill
- shatterbox
- core drill press
- thin-section saw/polisher
- trim saw
- slab saw
- hand-polishing equipment
- automated single disc polisher,
automated multi-sample polisher - ovens and hotplates for drying and curing samples
- epoxy mounting equipment and fume hood
- vacuum impregnation equipment.
The Department depends on the SamPLER facility to prepare samples for courses (separating, cutting, mounting, polishing or resurfacing), and as a management center for a diverse range of teaching materials, including a broad array of rock and mineral specimens. GEOL courses that depend on the SamPLER lab facility sample preparation, logging in/out usage, maintenance, and/or storage include the 1000-level courses (1010, 1030), 2000-level courses (2001, 2005, 2700), an array of upper level courses (including 3010, 3020, 3120, 3430), and all field courses.
