The establishment of a diverse and high quality education for undergraduate chemistry students, and students in related fields, is a primary goal of the Department of Chemistry. Chemistry's being primarily an experimental science, one of its most important components is the undergraduate laboratories. The purpose of this project is to introduce into the laboratory courses in physical chemistry experiments that probe condensed phases at the microscopic level and, at the same time, continue the laboratory upgrading by introducing modern spectroscopic methods. Specifically, the aims of the project are to create five new spectroscopic experiments based on scanning tunneling microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy instrument packages that are within the reach of most educational institutions; to develop these experiments to the point that they can be adopted by instructors who do not have the prior expertise using these techniques; to expose students in the introductory and advanced physical chemistry laboratories to modern techniques in physical chemistry as applied to diverse systems; and to communicate the results of this project both regionally and nationally through presentations at scientific meetings and publication in the Journal of Chemical Education. The improvements and diversification in the physical chemistry curriculum can be expected to encourage more students to pursue graduate studies in chemistry.
