This project uses GC/MS and related computer equipment for the separation and analysis of organic and organometallic substance relevant to the Department of Chemistry Laboratory curriculum and for the separation and analysis of organic contaminants that are commonly tested for commercially according to EPA standards in hazardous waste areas and groundwater supplies, which is of importance to the education of chemistry majors as well as to others who take environmental science and environmental chemistry courses. There are many situations in which analysis are presented with mixtures of small amounts of substances to be identified such as in the testing of drinking water for organic impurities. Our students, both major and non-major alike, have a clearer representation of the problems caused by organics in the environment and how these organics may be detected and analyzed. The institution is matching the NSF grant with an equal amount of funds.
