The university's chemistry department serves a student population that is attending graduate school in rapidly increasing numbers. To help these students and to stimulate even more to pursue this path, the department is developing an engaging new program of upper-level electives. This program must provide the advanced electives required for the professional major, excite students about continuing their education, and convey to them the true interdisciplinary nature of chemistry. The chemistry department has chosen to design a program to teach air-sensitive synthesis to undergraduates. This program fills the departmental need for advanced synthetic course work with electives designed to illustrate the interdisciplinary nature of chemistry seen in fields such as organometallics and material science. As the focal point, the university is currently building an undergraduate teaching lab dedicated to the art of air-sensitive synthesis/manipulation. This project specifically funds a single station inert atmosphere glove box as the one remaining item required for the completion of this facility. Since much of air-sensitive chemistry involves producing and handling air-sensitive products, it is unrealistic to omit these from a student's training. Glove box use is not only the best way to handle these products, it is also the most efficient, student friendly, way to teach a laboratory class of this type. Its acquisition allows electives in Organometallics and Advanced Synthetic Techniques to include a complete and relevant lab component.
