Through this project, the Department of Chemistry and the Environmental Science Program acquired equipment to upgrade three undergraduate laboratories which are critical components of the chemistry and environmental science majors programs. The item acquired included a modern fused silica, open tubular column gas chromatograph equipped with a mass selective detector and appropriate computer hardware and software, three Andersen Air Samplers, and one ion conductivity detector (which are used with the department's high performance liquid chromatograph). The justification for the request was to add mass spectrometry to already strong undergraduate chemistry and environmental science curriculums, to modernize the undergraduate gas chromatography instrumentation, and to add air quality analysis to an environmental science curriculum which was weak in this respect. The GC-MS system is used in two undergraduate chemistry laboratories as well as for individual undergraduate research projects. The Andersen Air Samplers and the ion conductivity detector are used in the Intermediate Environmental Laboratory as well as for individual undergraduate research projects. The institution contributed to this project in an amount equal to the NSF funds.
