Acquisition of a Carbon-Hydrogen-Nitrogen-Sulfur Element Analyzer

在Richard L. Boyce博士的指导下，北肯塔基大学获得了一笔拨款，用于部分支持购买碳、氢、氮和硫（C、H、N和S）元素分析仪。该仪器与相关的样品制备设备将用于生物学和化学的许多领域的研究。其中包括在科罗拉多州和肯塔基州进行的项目中对树叶中的碳和氮的分析；蝌蚪进食的潜在食物资源中碳和氮的量及其从所吃食物中吸收的量；在俄亥俄河和南美洲赤道地区湖泊进行的硅藻研究的水和沉积物样本中的碳、氮和硫含量；富勒烯-过渡金属对和新型线性多金属链的设计以及芳烃的伯格曼环化和芳烃与新型推挽环烯的结合。该仪器每年将用于培训一些本科生。由于北肯塔基大学主要是一个本科院校，没有一个pi在有研究生项目的部门，所有这些研究都涉及和训练本科生。元素分析仪的速度和安全性将允许pi让更多的本科生参与研究。预计该仪器将在化学和生物高年级课程中使用。获得这一仪器将使北肯塔基大学能够让更多的妇女和代表性不足的群体成员参与研究。北肯塔基大学生物和化学专业的大多数学生都是第一代大学生。超过一半的生物和化学专业学生从事研究工作；这一工具将使该大学能够在研究中培训更多这些代表性不足的群体，从而建立大辛辛那提/北肯塔基地区的研究基础设施。获得该设备还将允许pi进行目前无法完成的研究方面，因为当前的仪器不能分析C，并且对于这些研究产生的样本量来说太慢。

A grant has been awarded to Northern Kentucky University under the direction of Dr. Richard L. Boyce for partial support of the acquisition of an element analyzer for carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur (C, H, N and S). This instrument, with associated equipment for sample preparation, will be used for research in a number of areas in both biology and chemistry. These include the analysis of C and N in tree foliage for projects conducted in Colorado and Kentucky; the quantity of C and N in potential food resources eaten by tadpoles and the amount they assimilate from the food they eat; the C, N and S content of water and sediment samples from diatom studies being conducted on the Ohio River and from lakes in equatorial South America; the design of fullerene-transition metal dyads and new linear multimetallic chains; and the Bergman cyclization of arenediynes and the incorporation of arenediyenes into novel push-pull annulenes. This instrument will be used to train a number of undergraduate students each year. As Northern Kentucky University is primarily an undergraduate institution, and none of the PIs are in departments with graduate programs, all of these studies involve and train undergraduates. The speed and safety of the element analyzer will allow the PIs to involve even more undergraduates in research. It is anticipated that this instrument will be used in the chemistry and biology upper-division courses. Acquisition of this instrument will allow Northern Kentucky University to involve more women and members of under-represented groups in research. The majority of biology and chemistry majors at Northern Kentucky University are first-generation university students. More than half of the biology and chemistry majors are involved in research; this instrument will allow the university to train even more of these under-represented groups in research, thus building the research infrastructure of the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region. Acquisition of this equipment will also allow the PIs to carry out aspects of their research that cannot be done at present, as current instrumentation does not analyze C and is too slow for the volume of samples generated by these studies.