Real World Samples in Instrumental Methods of Analysis
04/17/2008
After learning how to use a variety of chemical instrumentation throughout the first two thirds of the course, Instrumental Chemistry students tackle more elaborate, open-ended problems. Students design their own sample preparation methods and chose which instruments were best suited to give them the information they needed. The instructor, Dr. Megan Ferguson, is expert in the trace analysis of environmental pollutants.
Students Kate Landi and Darren Ceckanowicz prepare samples to determine whether washing peaches before eating (or testing for pesticides using a gas chromatograph / mass spectrometer!) removes significant quantities of pesticides.
Jason Simmons and Nancy Nazarro weigh out sediment samples prior to analyzing the samples for heavy metals. They compared sediment collected from the Wallkill River to soil collected at a gas station.
