The acquisition of a FT-NMR spectrometer to augment the quality of our undergraduate curriculum is at the top of our agenda for the following important reasons: (i) The department is planning to revise all of its laboratory curriculum (organic, inorganic, analytical and physical) to include experiments with added emphasis on hands-on experience for our students, (ii) The organic chemistry laboratory course has recently been modified with all of its new experiments carried out on a small scale and this revision is in preparation for our anticipated change to a microscale curriculum, (iii) A new course emphasizing the use of a modern NMR for molecular structure elucidation is under preparation and will be offered to our advanced undergraduates and graduate students, (iv) Undergraduates involved in faculty-supervised research during the academic year and in the summer will also be benefited greatly from the availability of a high field NMR spectrometer. We have identified MercuryTM, a Varian spectrometer, as ideally suited to our pedagogical needs. Approximately 100 students per semester will have (carefully monitored) hands-on access to the instrument. The PIs have considerable experience in NMR spectroscopy and can fully utilize all the capabilities of the machine to implement the desired changes in the curriculum.
