The Geosciences Department at Georgia State operates a modern X-ray Fluroescence (XRF) Lab for the purpose of obtaining the chemical composition of rocks. In combination with petrographic studies, microprobe analysis, and X-ray diffraction analysis, XRF analysis can contribute greatly to understanding of the nature, origin, and evolution of rocks.

Dr. La Tour serves as both the faculty-in-charge of the lab and the chief analyst/technician (and bottle washer) for the facility. For this reason, the lab is generally not available for contract work, but is available to outside users who are affiliated with an academic institution. Outside users are expected to learn the ropes so as to obtain their analyses themselves.

Students have access to the XRF lab as part of their research, whether undergraduate or graduate.

The current XRF spectrometer is a Rigaku 3270 wavelength dispersive unit with a 60 kV generator and side-window Rh-target tube.