The project "Surface Characterization of Materials" will study a variety of materials by means of sophisticated spectroscopic techniques. The University of Texas at El Paso will purchase an x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) instrument and a thin-film sputtering instrument for research and instruction in science and engineering. The thin films to be produced are of interest in the study of photovoltaic materials; the XPS technique will study a plethora of surfaces of interest to geology, electrical engineering, chemistry and physics.