Laser Spectroscopy to Enhance Inquiry-Mode Laboratories in Chemistry

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Chemistry (12)Reflecting the importance of lasers in scientific research, medical practice, and numerous current and emerging technologies, leading chemistry programs have incorporated laser experiments into their advanced laboratory courses. We are introducing laser experiments at several levels of the Chemistry Department curriculum in a project that is central to our goal of moving the curriculum toward a "research model" in which students work with research-grade instrumentation, design experiments through guided inquiry, and interpret their results within the context of primary research literature. The experiments we are implementing are adapted from the Journal of Chemical Education and from primary chemistry research literature and are modified from procedures tested at other institutions. We are enhancing a Spectroscopy Laboratory course with the innovative goals of: (1) having students work with a versatile set of laser equipment to recognize how the capabilities and limitations of sources and detectors affect experimental design, and (2) designing two research-based experimental modules which address bio-inorganic photoinduced electron transfer and nonlinear optics using the appropriate spectroscopy tools. A second adaptation incorporates fluorescence lifetime and laser photochemical kinetic measurements into an Introductory Chemistry Laboratory and supplements our outreach efforts with secondary school chemistry programs. This project supports a trend in our department of increasing interest in student-faculty collaborative research. With new chemistry facilities to support instrumentation and new faculty members with expertise in spectroscopy, this is an ideal time to introduce laser spectroscopy experiments into our program.