Improving the Undergraduate Analytical and Organic Chemistry Curricula by Incorporation of FTIR Spectroscopy

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The Department of Chemistry is committed to providing undergraduate students with relevant, state-of-the-art laboratory instruction. The department is currently in the process of reforming the laboratory curricula through the introduction of new experiments and by extending `real world` applications of modern instrumentation into both upper- and lower-level undergraduate courses. The project involves the acquisition of a Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer and the integration of its quantitative applications into the Analytical and Organic Chemistry curricula, as well as undergraduate research projects. This integration includes the general quantitative analysis laboratory typically taken during the second semester of the first year. It is believed that the changes, facilitated by acquisition of the FTIR spectrometer, are increasing both the quality and scope of instruction in the laboratory courses and are attracting more students to the study of science, particularly women and under-represented minority groups. Program implementation gives all of the laboratory students hands-on experience with modern instrumentation and provides chemistry majors with skills that will enable them to pursue careers in science successfully.