Utilizing NSF support, the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at Southern Illinois University will renovate approximately 12,000 square feet of laboratory space for the benefit of research and research training activities. NSF funds, combined with matching support from the campus, will reconfigure large, poorly designed facilities which reflect the inadequacies of 34 year old building design. Constructed as an instructional facility, the large laboratories are inefficient, and many are shared by two researchers. The hood space is limited and is unable to effectively vent toxic fumes. The vacuum systems are weak. The NSF-supported effort will correct these deficiencies and allow for the design of space according to the more specialized needs of seven researchers' individual programs. These programs include studies in analytical and organic chemistry with special emphasis in the following specific research areas: synthetic and physical organic chemistry, catalysis, separations theory and atomic spectroscopy.
