Dr. Norma K. Dunlap

ndunlap@mtsu.edu

Dr. Earl F. Pearson

Chemistry

Discipline specific equipment

Davis Science Building (DSB) rooms 204 and 208

New Technology

N/A

The following equipment to outfit 120 pairs of students in organic chemistry laboratories are urgently needed to meet the curriculum requirements of the American Chemical Society for continuing our departmental accreditation. This includes microscale glassware, stirring hotplates, chemical balances, melting-point apparatus, rotary evaporators, and other equipment for performing synthetic procedures of modern organic chemistry. We also want to upgrade the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometers (FTIR) used to analyze the products of chemical reactions. Our present infrared spectrometers are over ten years old and lack sensitivity, suitable scan speed, spectral databases, and remote access capability. Vendor support for consumable parts of these aging instruments is limited or almost nonexistent. Acquisition of these items will play a significant role in supporting diverse academic and professional goals of approximately 240 students per semester in organic chemistry laboratories. These students represent a broad spectrum of academic programs including chemistry, biology, agribusiness and agriscience, nutrition and food science, as well as pre-professional preparation for medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and other health sciences. State-of-the-art NMR spectrometers were acquired through NSF grants; however, most other equipment represents the archaic technology of the last generation of organic laboratory procedures and do not meet current standards.