The purchase of a FT-IR spectrometer and associated computer hardware and software is an important feature in the vertical (course to course) integration of the laboratory programs. A series of progressively challenging and instructive hands-on experiments centered around the spectrometer are being used to demonstrate the capabilities of modern instrumentation and computerized data manipulations. For example, students in the Organic Chemistry course laboratory use the instrument to record spectra of compounds and to identify unknowns using the database available. Also, junior students use the spectrometer in analytical and kinetics experiments where the advantages of the instrument is more fully explored. Senior students use the instrument extensively to tackle problems encountered in their collaborative research activities with faculty members. The institution is matching the NSF grant with an equal amount of funds.
