Industry Partnership Helps U of A Chemistry Department Update Labs

Photos by Matt Reynolds, University Relations

Julie Stenken, 21st Century Chair an professor of analytical chemistry, instructs undergraduates Madeline Meier and Dakory Lee in the operation of a newly acquired Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer with Attenuated Total Reflectance capability (FTIR-ATR). This instrument is capable of probing the surface of otherwise opaque solid samples.

The University of Arkansas Department of Chemistry renovated its undergraduate teaching labs this fall with state-of-the-art equipment from Shimadzu Corporation.

Shimadzu, a leader in analytical instruments, provided the university with $200,000 in lab equipment at near cost to upgrade undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry labs.

"We're making an ongoing investment in our labs and equipment," said Wesley Stites, chair of the Department of Chemistry. "Any undergraduate chemistry major who comes to the U of A has the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art chemistry equipment in a brand new teaching laboratory."

The lab upgrade is part of an ongoing $11 million renovation of Discovery Hall, formerly known as the Science Building, and its labs.

Jingyi Chen, assistant professor of physical chemistry, prepares one of two newly purchased high-performance liquid chromatographs for an undergraduate teaching laboratory. This instrument separates complex mixtures into their components, allowing students to identify and measure the amount of each component in the mixture.

The new equipment includes:

• Three Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometers with Attenuated Total Reflectance capability
• 13 ultraviolet/visible wavelength spectrometers with kinetics capability
• Four gas chromatographs and two liquid chromatographs with quaternary solvent capability
• 29 balances

"We appreciate our industry partners for their dedication to excellence in higher education," Stites said.