Significant revisions are provided to the upper-level offerings in chemistry and biochemistry to make more explicit the connection between electronic structure and physical and chemical properties in a wide range of materials. This project purchases a .63 T electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer, an instrument of increasingly wide-use in both applied and basic research, ideally suited to illuminating the electronic structure of many important materials. In conjunction with the prior instrument holdings of the college, an EPR spectrometer enables the college to develop new laboratories incorporating recent advances in inorganic chemistry to help students better understand connections between chemical structure and function. An EPR spectrometer, in addition to existing equipment, also enables the college to develop an innovate immersion course in bioinorganic chemistry to be offered during the short-term. This intensive 5 days per week, 6 hours per day, 5-week course provides students with exposure to both the concepts and techniques of bioinorganic chemistry. This course serves both chemistry majors and the growing number of biochemistry majors. Projects developed for this course can serve as a model for undergraduate bioinorganic courses. Incorporation of an EPR-based project into the existing upper-level spectroscopy course provides an important additional dimension to the existing projects based on molecular beam spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Additionally, the EPR spectrometer markedly enhances the research opportunities available to students in the natural sciences. *
