OUUSF has experience in a wide range of applications, click on 'Projects' for an impression. OUUSF analytical instrumentation is mass spectrometry and gamma-spectrometry, but does not cover 'long' half-lifes of U and Th that require the determination of the stable lead isotopes ²⁰⁸Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb and ²⁰⁶Pb, nor the very short half-lifes such as ²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Bi which require α, β, or γ-counting instruments. Stable Pb isotope research, including zircon dating, are covered by NERC Isotope Geoscience Laboratory.

Funding for projects that have been approved by the NERC Isotope Geochemistry Facilities Steering Committee NIGFSC is in the form of a 'grant-in-kind'.

Submission of applications for collaboration

Projects for OUUSF collaborations must be submitted on a Pro Forma to NIGFSC. There are two submission dates per calender year. Usually it makes sense for prospective collaborators to make contact with OUUSF staff to discuss a project.

The application form can be downloaded from the link below, saved with a specific name locally, emailed to OUUSF and other collaborators and submitted to NIGFSC using the button in the top right corner. Alternatively, the form can be printed and submitted as hard copy, either through OUUSF or directly to:

For collaborative projects outside the NERC remit, funding will have to be arranged based on full economic costing fEC. This could include application of our analytical techniques to projects on the effects of uranium, including depleted uranium, on health, or nuclear waste, or forensics and probably much more.