Facilities

The Olin Center for Physics and Chemistry features more than 20,000 square feet of classroom, laboratory, and study space. It includes a lecture demonstration arena; well-equipped general, organic, analytical, biochemistry, physical chemistry, and inorganic laboratory facilities; a chemistry data analysis room that includes computer facilities for poster preparation; an organic instrumentation room; special laboratories for student and faculty research; three seminar-classrooms; a conference room; and a student lounge. The department received funding from the Fairchild Foundation and the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a high-field FT-NMR that is used by all organic chemistry students.

Instrumentation

300 MHz Bruker NMR Spectrometer

The 300 MHz spectrometer is used extensively in organic chemistry and physical chemistry laboratory courses. In addition, it supports the research of several faculty members.

 

 

Vernier LabPro Stations

Twenty-four laptops equipped with Vernier LabPro data-collection interfaces are used in the General chemistry lab for automated collection of routine data.

 

Hewlett Packard 1090 High Pressure Liquid Chromatograph

Interfaced to a diode array UV-Vis detector that analyzes biomolecules.

 

 

 

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometers

Nicolet 360 and 380 FTIR spectrometers, which measure bond vibrations, are used in organic chemistry and advanced labs.

 

 

  

 

Diode Array UV-Visible Spectrophotometers

Students throughout the chemistry curriculum use the department’s four Hewlett-Packard Ultraviolet-Visible diode array spectrometers  to measure molecular chromophores. In addition, the department has six OceanOptics spectrometers that operate in the visible-near infrared part of the spectrum for use in first-year lab courses.

 

Perkin Elmer Atomic Absorption Spectrometer

Used in several project-based labs in General chemistry to analyze metal content in aqueous solutions

 

 

 

 

Hewlett Packard 5859A Mass Spectrometer

The mass spectrometer, interfaced to a HP gas chromatograph, analyzes molecular fragmentation patterns

 

 

 

 

Molecular Modeling Laboratory

Twelve dual-core 24” iMacs are used in general, organic, and physical chemistry courses to run Spartan and Odyssey software for modeling molecules and systems of molecules.

 

 

 

 

Gas Chromatographs

Three Gow Mac gas chromatographs dedicated to the Nutrition labs.