The Geology Department at Macalester College occupies the
majority of the first floor of Rice Hall in the Olin-Rice
Science Complex. The Department houses an outstanding
array of teaching and research facilities including the Keck
Laboratory. Students are encouraged to use any of the
equipment for class and research related projects.
To sign up for instrument time, email Jeff Thole or Karl Wirth with your preferred time. Please see the calendar links below to find available instrument time.
SEM/EDS Calendar
XRD Calendar
Teaching and Computer Facilities
The Macalester
College Geology Department boasts three exclusive teaching labs that
are utilized for both introductory and upper level courses. In
addition, the department shares a large lecture hall equipped with the
latest multimedia support. Several small labs are also available
for student/faculty research and class projects. A well-supported
computer laboratory (Mark E. Andersen Computer Lab) has many recent
Apple and PC workstations with the latest productivity software.
Additional facilities include high quality binocular and petrographic
microscopes, rock cutting, polishing and crushing equipment, thin
section preparation equipment and a digital
broadband seismometer. A student lounge/library located in
the department is equipped with computer access and geologic
literature. The department is also fortunate to have a
custom-designed Guide
to Research online through the DeWitt Wallace
Library.
The Henry
Lepp Geology Museum is located on the first floor of the Geology
Department outside of the faculty offices. It currently hosts a
display of early dinosaurs Eoraptor
and Herrerasaurus battling over
a dead rhynchosaur), the skull of Majungatholus
atopus (a spectacular domed theropod from Madagascar), and a
variety of other items of geologic interest. The Webers Rock
Garden (situated in a courtyard immediately outside of the department)
is home to numerous rock specimens that represent typical lithologies
of the Upper Midwest.
Zeiss DSM 960A Scanning Electron Microscope
The SEM is equipped with a new Robinson Backscatter Electron Detector and
an Oxford Instruments Energy Dispersive X-ray Detector.
SEM/EDS Calendar (Click the Week View tab or event to see total usage time for each event)
Philips PW2400 X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
The spectrometer is used to determine major and trace element
concentrations down to the parts per million range in a variety
of substances, but primarily in silicate rocks. Sample preparation
equipment includes an automated fusion machine (Claisse Fluxy) and a 25-ton manual press.
PANalytical X'PERT Pro X-ray Diffractometer
The x-ray diffractometer is used primarily to identify individual minerals and mineral
mixtures (rocks). A variety of software packages allow simple identification, semi-quantitative
phase analysis, and lattice parameter determinations.
XRD Calendar (Click the Week View tab or event to see total usage time for each event)
Macalester College · 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105 USA ·
651-696-6000
Comments and questions to Thole@macalester.edu
section preparation equipment and a 
a dead rhynchosaur), the skull of Majungatholus
atopus (a spectacular domed theropod from Madagascar), and a
variety of other items of geologic interest. The Webers Rock
Garden (situated in a courtyard immediately outside of the department)
is home to numerous rock specimens that represent typical lithologies
of the Upper Midwest.
