The Erwin F. Lange Endowment was established in 2005 to provide day-to-day operating funds for the Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory (CML). Donations are added to the fund's principal, with the interest on this principal supplying the funds to run the lab. What are these funds used for? 1) Assisting the public in identifying potential meteorites.  Members of CML receive between 10 and 20 inquiries per week from the public. We believe in the motto "Let Knowledge Serve the City". 2) Classification of new meteorites (preparation of thin sections, costs of using equipment such as a scanning electron microscope and an electron microprobe).  We have recently classified the following meteorites:  Buck Mountain Wash; Buck Mountains 001, 002, and 003; Palo Verde Mine; Greener Reservoir; NWA 4002, 4003, and 4050. 3) Acquisition of new samples for the CML meteorite collection and curation of those samples.  While we try to encourage donation of meteorite samples, sometimes the only way to obtain a specimen is by paying for it.  Many meteorites disappear into private collections and are lost when the collector dies.  It is important to maintain as much material as possible for future generations. In 2005, CML became an official respository for the type specimens of some newly classified meteorites. We maintain these specimens and loan material to researchers at other institutions. 4) Research projects, including student research.  Three of the recently classified meteorites listed above (NWA 4002, 4002, and 4050) were classified as part of an undergraduate research project.  Additionally, funds are used for small but interesting research projects that are not funded by government grant agencies such as the National Science Foundation or NASA.  In some cases, these small projects serve as pilot projects that enable us to pursue govenment funding for larger research efforts. Recent projects funded by donations include: a) a study of the complicated shock effects in the Buck Mountain Wash meteorite b) a combined TEM/SEM (transmission electron microscopy/scanning electron microscopy) study of the Portales Valley meteorite which attempts to constrain the origin of this meteorite c) a study of NWA 2999, demonstrating why this meteorite cannot be from the planet Mercury, as has been proposed by other researchers. d) a collaborative study with M. Fries of Carnegie to examine dark inclusions with Raman spectroscopy and SEM. Please help support your lab. You can make a difference.  All of the work listed above has been paid for by donations from the public.  No donation is too small.  We often get checks for $10 or $20.  If you want to help, please make your check out to: PSU Foundation/ Erwin F. Lange Endowment and mail it to the address listed below.  Your support is greatly appreciated! Portland State University is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  Your donation to the Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory is tax deductible. Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory Dept. of Geology, Portland State University 17 Cramer Hall, 1721 SW Broadway Portland, OR 97207-0751

This endowment was started by CML member and PSU alumnus Richard N. Pugh, in honor of his former advisor Erwin F. Lange. Picture of Erwin F. Lange from the Portland State College 1960 yearbook Erwin F. Lange was a passionate scientist with an interest in meteorites and the history of science.  He encouraged a number of his students, including Richard Pugh, to become science teachers.  He began his career as a chemistry instructor at Vanport College (a precursor to PSU) in 1948.  When the college moved to downtown Portland and became Portland State College, Dr. Lange moved with it and became the Head of the General Sciences Department.  In the 1960s, Portland State College became Portland State University and Dr. Lange became the Assistant Dean of Science.  He taught clases in physical science, the history of science, and meteorites, and was always on the lookout for potential teachers among his students. He also believed in educating the public about meteorites. 1968:  The Year of the Meteorite In 1968, he published "A Collection of Articles on Meteorites" as Miscellaneous Paper #11 in The Ore Bin, a publication of the State of Oregon's Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. In his introduction, he states: "The year 1968 has been designated in Oregon as the year of the meteorite by a committee consisting of Hollis M. Dole, State Geologist, Phil F. Brogan, science writer and former associate newspaper editor at Bend, and the writer.  This group firmly believes that there are in Oregon undiscovered meteorites that might be found if many people became more observing of their surroundings, and the group also feels that there may be undescribed or unreported meteorites in th possession of people who are unfamiliar with their importance to science." The first meteorite in the Portland State University/ Cascadia Meteorite Collection is a 35 lb Odessa (Texas) iron meteorite (IAB) purchased by Erwin F. Lange in 1968.  A U.S. penny is shown for scale. As a result of Lange's efforts during The Year of the Meteorite, a 35 lb iron meteorite (Odessa, Texas) was brought in to Portland State.  Dr. Lange purchased this meteorite for $200.  This became the first meteorite in what would later be the Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory's collection.