New Instrumentation Offers Students State-of-the-Art Research Opportunities

A new 400MHz Bruker NMR was delivered to the chemistry department in August. This instrument, essential to probe individual atoms within unique molecular structures, was funded by a $450,000 National Science Foundation Major Research Instrument Grant written by Dr. Hala Schepmann, Dr. Samuel David, and Dr. Anna Oliveri. The instrument was assembled, energized, and programmed in September. Dr. Schepmann has been rewriting standard protocols for the updated software and attended a training session at the Bruker Facility in Boston, MA. Our SOU Senior Capstone Students started using the instrument to analyze samples in October. Chloe Fiveash is working with Dr. David and uses the instrument to determine the purity of products in organic synthesis reactions, while Karson McCoy is working with Dr. Oliveri and uses the instrument to observe inorganic polyatomic ions in solution. During the winter term, students in spectroscopy will be trained to use the NMR.