Progress Towards Laser Cooling and Trapping Gadolinium

Lanthanide elements are of interest because of their potential for investigating next generation optical clock transitions, novel non-S ground state ultracold collisions, and the physics of quantum degenerate dipolar gases. We present our progress towards laser cooling and trapping atomic Gadolinium (Gd). A magneto-optical trap is the first step towards precision measurements, ultracold collision studies, and for probing dipolar physics of Gd. The design, construction, and performance of the apparatus will be presented.