This instrument is allowing NMR experiments to be incorporated into the curricula at all levels, which result in enhanced laboratory experiences for the students. At the introductory level the NMR is used to demonstrate to general education students the relationship between structure and the utility of petroleum products; to allied health students, the application of NMR in medicine; and to science majors, the affect of hybridization on chemical shifts. In organic chemistry students gain hands-on experience with NMR through the structural analysis of reaction products, unknowns, and during ten-week individual projects. The biochemistry students will determine a specific drug binding to proteins through NMR. In physical chemistry, students discover the quantitative utility of NMR by using it to determine both equilibrium and rate constants. The advantages of signal averaging, the principles of Fourier Transform and pulse NMR spectroscopy, and the significance of reaction rates is illustrated in instrumental analysis. An accessible NMR provides the undergraduates with the opportunity to participate in research at a higher level than would otherwise be possible. The institution is matching the NSF grant with an equal amount of funds.
