Summary:

The Geological Society of Minnesota will conduct a lab in the Olin-Rice Science Center of Macalester College involving the mineralogy and geochemistry of gemstones; in particular, birthstones.  You will have the opportunity to look at a variety of gemstones up close using a variety of techniques including stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and micro-x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.  A demonstration of gemstone faceting will also be conducted.

Jeff Thole, Lab Supervisor and Instructor at Macalester, will lead the discussion.  Several others will be there to assist as well. This lab is free and open to the public, with no advanced registration required. Signs in the building will direct you to the lab and we will meet in OLRI 100 (center of building, lower level) for a brief introduction.

Biography:

Jeff Thole is the Geology Laboratory Supervisor and Instructor at Macalester College.  He arrived at Macalester in 1996 after doing 5 years of environmental consulting.  His work experience also includes spending a year as a geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia.  His primary duties include teaching introductory labs and maintaining, running, and user instruction for the instrumentation housed in the Macalester Science Division’s Keck Laboratory.  Jeff received Master of Science in Geology from Washington State University in 1991 and Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Minnesota – Duluth in 1987.