In this project funded by the MPS-LEAPS (Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways) Program and the Chemical Measurement and Imaging (CMI) Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Willis Jones and his students at the University of North Florida will perform studies to improve the determination of trace level analytes using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). LIBS is a versatile measurement technique capable of directly measuring solids, liquids, and gases with minimal preparation. A high-powered laser forms a small plasma that is used to quantify all elements present in a sample. However, the method is inherently very “noisy” and often provides results with poor reproducibility. Furthermore, the makeup of a sample (soil versus wastewater, for example) can ruin any attempt at measuring trace level analytes. Professor Jones and his students will construct a custom LIBS system and develop novel calibration strategies that attack both of these limitations. Their studies could result in calibration strategies that broadly improve LIBS measurements and extend beyond the LIBS space, leading to improved trace level quantification for all analytes of interest in innumerable fields of science. In addition, LIBS technology will lead to closely mentored research projects for undergraduate students and will be incorporated into the core curriculum at UNF, continually training new generations of budding scientists and enhancing their technical capabilities as increasingly es