Alabama A&M University seeks to acquire a 90-MHz Fourier Transform Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (FT-NMR) Spectrometer for the program in Chemistry to develop and enhance undergraduate student research, as well as develop and disseminate NMR modules to enhance chemistry program curricula. The Chemistry program seeks to gain approval from the American Chemical Society - Committee on Professional Training. To gain ACS-CPT approval, university chemistry programs must have a functioning NMR spectrometer that undergraduates use in instruction and research. With this instrumentation, STEM students at Alabama A&M will have hands-on experience with a powerful research instrument and will be better equipped to matriculate to graduate school or to enter the scientific and technological workforce. This project seeks to increase the number of minority Chemistry graduates and thus will be an asset to the surrounding scientific and research communities in Huntsville and northern Alabama.
The proposed activity will improve the undergraduate research program, and offer course enhancements and laboratory experiments that previously were not available. These efforts will result in contributions to biodiesel analysis, and the structure and reactivity of ozonized unsaturated fatty acids. Additionally, new teaching paradigms will be developed that can be applied to all academic STEM programs.
