Seattle University has been a beacon in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle for nearly 130 years. With its strong focus on scientific research, SU approached the Murdock Trust a few years ago to take its research facilities to the next level. A new Laser Spectroscopy User Facility creates a shared research space with leading-edge instrumentation where 200 students across the disciplines of chemistry, biology, mechanical engineering, and civil and environmental engineering can collaborate on research.
The equipment that forms the core of this new laser user laboratory includes a combined Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy/Raman Spectroscopy (LIBS/RS) instrument. Raman spectroscopy is commonly used to provide information on the form and shapes of various simple and complex molecules, while LIBS is used to identify the actual elements that make up a molecular or crystal sample.
The Murdock Trust is proud to support the advancement of scientific research at research institutes, like Seattle University, across the Pacific Northwest.
Matthew Moe, a junior studying Mechanical Engineering, is shown working with a Raman microscope in the LIBS laboratory at Seattle University. 
Isaac Grubb, a visiting research student from University of Washington, works with a LIBS instrument in the spectroscopy lab.
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