The Keck Lab is a multi-room teaching and research facility that contains analytical equipment that has been primarily acquired through NSF funding. There is a central teaching and sample preparation area surrounded by 6 rooms dedicated to a particular technology or preparation technique. The major equipment includes a Philips (now PANalytical) PW2400 X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (acquired 1997), a PANalytical X’Pert Pro MPD X-ray Diffractometer (acquired 2005), and a JEOL 6610LV Scanning Electron Microscope with Oxford Instruments EDS and WDS microanalytical capabilities as well as backscatter and cathodoluminescence detectors (acquired 2010).
Other spaces in the lab house XRF sample preparation equipment (balance, Claisse Fluxy fusion instrument, pellet press, and high temperature ovens), histology and petrography preparation equipment with a microscope/camera system, and a gamma-ray spectrometer. The lab also houses three devices for coating samples for microanalytical and thin film work including a Denton DV-502A Vacuum Evaporator, a Pelco SC-7 Auto Sputter Coater, and a Denton Desk III carbon evaporation/metal sputter coater. All major analytical instruments are run by modern PCs with the latest analytical software. NSF funded equipment is routinely maintained under Service Agreements funded by the College.