{"id":18504,"date":"2018-10-11T16:22:38","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T20:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugaresearch.uga.edu\/?p=18504"},"modified":"2021-06-21T09:20:08","modified_gmt":"2021-06-21T13:20:08","slug":"who-are-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/who-are-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Who are you? Solving mysteries at CAIS"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container first-paragraph”]You probably don\u2019t want to test Jeff Speakman\u2019s diagnostic skills.<\/p>\n

The archaeologist and director of UGA\u2019s Center for Applied Isotope Studies has many tools in his arsenal and plenty of experience, so you\u2019d better come with a challenge\u2014as one student discovered recently.<\/p>\n

After returning from the Cook Islands, the student brought Speakman a tourist item made of basalt and asked a question: Where did it come from? Basalt is a volcanic material with properties similar to obsidian\u2014volcanic glass\u2014which Speakman has studied for years. Speakman identified not just which of the 15 Cook Islands the item came from, but also which part of the island.<\/p>\n

The student\u2019s response? \u201cYou\u2019re absolutely right.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be fair, it\u2019s not easy to stump Speakman. He and the CAIS team have been working as scientific detectives for years, conducting investigations on behalf of industry partners, universities, government agencies and researchers, including UGA faculty and students. Their many projects include testing hide, hair and bone collagen from a 36,000-year-old mummified Alaska steppe bison; authenticating samples of consumer products like honey, champagne and vanilla; and analyzing a skull presumed to be from a Civil War soldier.<\/p>\n

\u201cThematically, the center is about measuring isotopes,\u201d Speakman says. \u201cCAIS is the largest stable isotope laboratory in the world, and one of the most comprehensive geochemistry laboratories in the world.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”26559″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” el_class=”container”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]In spring 2014, a skull was scheduled to be auctioned in Hagerstown, Maryland.\u00a0It had been found on a farm about two miles north of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, near a barn that served as a field hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. But public reaction to auctioning a soldier\u2019s remains was strongly negative, and the skull was withdrawn and donated to the Gettysburg Foundation.<\/p>\n

The foundation planned a soldier\u2019s burial for the skull, but first they turned to the Smithsonian for verification. Based on its appearance, Smithsonian anthropologists immediately suspected that the skull was far older than presumed and sent a tiny piece of tooth to CAIS for testing. Using radiocarbon dating, Speakman discovered that the skull was about seven centuries old. Carbon and nitrogen isotope testing suggested that the \u201csoldier\u201d ate a diet of mainly corn, and based on oxygen isotopes, he probably originated in southwestern New Mexico or southeastern Arizona.<\/p>\n

\u201cOxygen is a really good indicator of temperature. As you move farther north, water evaporates differently,\u201d Speakman says. \u201cBy looking at isotopic ratios of oxygen, we can identify northern and southern movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

This kind of expertise is why the Smithsonian brought its question to UGA. In its earliest iteration, CAIS was known as the Geochronology Laboratory, founded in 1968. It focused primarily on radiocarbon dating, working on marine-based research like sediment mapping in rivers and harbors. In the 1980s the stable isotope lab was established and focused mainly on the authentication of natural materials and food ingredients, an aspect of the lab\u2019s work that continues to thrive.<\/p>\n

Speakman joined CAIS in 2011\u2014from the Smithsonian\u2014and became director the next year. In 2016, the center expanded its physical footprint to 24,000 square feet and also enhanced its capabilities. When Speakman arrived, CAIS had three instruments capable of measuring stable isotopes, and now it has 22, more than any other lab in the world. The staff has nearly quadrupled in that same period, growing from 13 people to around 50. About 20 percent of those are scientists, who have their own research projects and often are affiliated with other campus departments, and the rest are postdocs, students and support staff.<\/p>\n

The lab now measures carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, deuterium and sulfur isotopic signatures in environmental and biological samples. This information can be used to track animal migration patterns and ocean temperatures, help reconstruct ecosystems, monitor pollution or test products\u2019 authenticity. In addition to radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis, CAIS researchers perform tests including elemental analysis, bio-based product testing, natural product authenticity, and organic and inorganic analyses.<\/p>\n

The center is one of UGA\u2019s core research facilities, serving needs on and off campus. Since 2012, CAIS has conducted research for more than 450 universities, government agencies, nonprofits and industry clients, as well as hundreds of campus-based researchers, processing more than 1,000 analytical requests from UGA faculty and students. In 2015 alone, the center analyzed approximately 68,000 samples, with the stable isotope lab processing about 75 percent of those.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn average, our growth has increased 10 percent per year for the last decade,\u201d Speakman says.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”26560″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” el_class=”container”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]Alice Hunt used to have a sign on her door\u00a0that read: \u201cEmpowering the scientist in everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CAIS assistant research scientist has always been passionate about empowering others. Before starting graduate school, she served as a humanitarian aid worker in Bosnia-Herzegovina. After arriving at the center as a postdoc in 2013, she conducted science-related outreach and education activities in the Athens community in her free time. When Speakman found out, he encouraged her to make it part of her job.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a center within the university, we should be doing education and outreach not only to our students but also to the community,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Hunt focuses primarily on two audiences, pre-K through 12th grade and undergraduate students, sometimes working directly with students and sometimes providing resources for teachers. For example, Hunt wrote a curriculum for high school on dropping the A-bomb and radioactive decay.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot every teacher is comfortable leading a class on radiation physics,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Center
The Carbon Comics series, created by CAIS for use with outreach programs, is English-Spanish bilingual. The first two issues explore radiocarbon dating and archaeometallurgy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hunt also spearheaded the creation of a bilingual English\/Spanish comic book series. The first issue covered radiocarbon dating; Hunt wrote a curriculum to accompany it and is working with the Georgia Department of Education to make it available statewide.<\/p>\n

The second comic book, out this fall, explores archaeometallurgy through a project identifying the origin of mission bells. In the Southeast, mission bells were used at Spanish settlements in places like St. Catherines Island, Georgia, and sites in Florida. During indigenous uprisings, the bells\u2014whose ringing was a reminder of subjugation under Spanish rule\u2014often were torn down, broken into pieces and given out like party favors.<\/p>\n

Using x-ray fluorescence and lead isotopes\u2014via the only MC-ICPMS (multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer) machine in the state\u2014to examine samples of the mission bells, CAIS scientists were able to confirm where they were founded.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite what the mission records say about these bells coming from Spain, some came from Mexico,\u201d Hunt says.<\/p>\n

In addition to projects at the state level, Hunt continues her work in the local community. During the summer she worked with the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation on a program that gave guidance for how to be a STEM major in college, exploring questions like: How do you study? What are career choices other than doctor? What\u2019s the difference between working in a service lab and a research lab?<\/p>\n

At the college level, Hunt serves on UGA\u2019s STEM core courses working group. Collaborating with an interdisciplinary team, she designed a suite of interventions to help students taking freshman chemistry\u2014typically a tough experience. The program of interventions was tested this spring, and 82 percent of students in the test section earned a C or above, compared to about 65 percent for other sections.<\/p>\n

With the STEM on the Move program, Hunt helps integrate technology into a course with the goal of improving STEM literacy. During fall 2017 she worked with Cynthia Camp, associate professor of English literature, on the Hargrett Hours Project, a student-led research project into a 15th-century \u201cBook of Hours\u201d (a type of Christian text popular in the Middle Ages) held at UGA\u2019s Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Students first learned the skills necessary to engage in basic manuscript study and then applied those skills, using portable x-ray fluorescence to analyze medieval pigments from the Book of Hours with the help of Hunt and CAIS.<\/p>\n

Hunt is full of ideas, like starting a book club for STEM majors. The sign on her door is long gone, but she\u2019s still trying to help people find their inner scientist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what gets me out of bed in the morning,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Things are not always what they seem.<\/p>\n

Take, for example, the box of shrunken heads that arrived at CAIS in 2014. They were sent by a museum that wanted to know how old the heads were\u2014information that would determine whether they could be moved across state lines, according to laws governing the transport of human remains. After radiocarbon dating, CAIS determined that some of the heads were modern, and close visual inspection suggested that some were not actually human.<\/p>\n

Randy Culp, associate director of CAIS, is very familiar with the ways in which appearances can be misleading. He leads the center\u2019s natural products and bio-based products testing, which uses radiocarbon and stable isotope analytical techniques to authenticate natural products in foods, flavors and beverages.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section css=”.vc_custom_1567710408463{background-color: #e4ddc7 !important;}” el_class=”fw-polygon”][vc_row equal_height=”yes” bg_type=”bg_color”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1567710326062{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}” el_class=”polygon-wrapper”][vc_raw_html el_class=”polygon” css=”.vc_custom_1568898782101{background-image: url(https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2018\/10\/Culp-Randy.jpg?id=18483) !important;}”]JTNDJTIxLS1sZWF2ZSUyMHRoaXMlMjBlbXB0eS0tJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ el_class=”polygon-content”][vc_column_text el_class=”testimonial”]<\/p>\n

Associate Director Randy Culp leads CAIS testing for natural products and bio-based products\u2014he sometimes refers to it as \u201cforensics in food and flavor authenticity.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]Some natural compounds can be synthesized cheaply in a laboratory, so it\u2019s tempting to substitute synthetic compounds for natural, plant-derived compounds, increasing the profit margin for a manufacturer. That makes it important to confirm the authenticity of commercial consumer products, particularly those labeled \u201call natural.\u201d CAIS has been doing that for more than 30 years; during the last 10 years, the same analytical techniques also have been applied to bio-based products, which are commercial or industrial products not used for food and feed.<\/p>\n

CAIS has tested products like champagne, honey, curcumin and vanilla\u2014one of the most popular flavoring products in the world. U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules dictate that vanilla labeled as natural must come from vanilla beans, Culp says, although the average grocery store shelf will contain large quantities of products claiming to be natural vanilla.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not enough natural vanilla grown in the world to supply that, so it has to come from some other source,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

If Speakman and the CAIS staff can be considered scientific detectives, then Culp and his team are the forensics branch of the operation. They work with individual companies but also government agencies to determine if what\u2019s on the label matches what\u2019s inside the package. They use a variety of methods, including radiocarbon dating, which measures the amount of carbon-14 present. All living plants and anything derived from plants have a certain amount of carbon-14, so its absence indicates that a product was synthesized from something else\u2014probably a petrochemical product\u2014instead of plants.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a constant game of cat and mouse to keep up with those trying to evade regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve often said, \u2018The bad guys know what we can do,\u2019\u201d Culp says. \u201cThey figure out something to circumvent a test, and we have to figure out what we can add to our arsenal of isotopes or elemental analysis to reveal what they have done.\u201d<\/p>\n

To get a head start, CAIS has worked with the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association to develop databases profiling compounds that they commonly test.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know what these compounds look like when they\u2019re natural, and we know what they look like when they\u2019re synthetic. This way we\u2019ve got a better handle on assigning the source or the process for these particular samples,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In 2014, CAIS became ISO\/IEC 17025 accredited to conduct stable isotope and radiocarbon analyses. It\u2019s kind of like the Good Housekeeping Seal for labs, according to Culp. CAIS is also one of two labs in the U.S. that are certified by the American Society for Testing and Materials International to determine whether bio-based products meet USDA standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cAuthenticity testing is building. There are a lot more products that are being advertised as natural, and that means there\u2019s a lot more scrutiny, so our business is increasing quite a bit,\u201d Culp says. \u201cWe want to make sure we do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you visit CAIS, you might overhear an interesting comment\u00a0like, \u201cWell, it\u2019s a weird piece of bone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The speaker might be referring to a sample from one of the center\u2019s many clients, who come from all over the world. Or it could be a UGA-based researcher discussing his or her own project. CAIS works with a number of UGA scientists\u2014both faculty and graduate students\u2014on a variety of projects.<\/p>\n

Scott Noakes, an associate research scientist who leads the center\u2019s scientific diving program, is investigating lionfish, an invasive species that is destroying natural habitats in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic coast. Ph.D. student Kat Napora is exploring samples of trees pulled for duck pond maintenance on an island in Georgia\u2019s Altamaha River, so far finding trees ranging in age from a few decades to 6,000 years, providing a chronology of environmental change. In June, professor of archaeology Victor Thompson published research revealing the site of the Native American Calusa tribe\u2019s king\u2019s house at Mound Key, Florida\u2014a discovery supported by tests performed at CAIS.<\/p>\n

Testing a high volume of samples in a wide variety of fields\u2014ecology, chemistry, biology, anthropology, marine science, geology, physics, plant science, horticulture and forestry\u2014requires a significant investment in equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cCAIS is one of about five universities in the country that have a compact accelerator for measuring carbon-14,\u201d Speakman says. \u201cEven fewer universities have two accelerators.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also requires anticipating future needs. Speakman is making plans to buy a third accelerator within a few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re reaching capacity for the first two,\u201d he says. \u201cWe need it.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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