MRI: Acquisition of a High Resolution Hybrid Mass Spectrometry System for the Next Generation of Multidisciplinary Environmental Research, Graduate Education and Student Training

PI请求核磁共振快速资金，以购买最先进的高分辨率混合质谱仪系统和相关外围设备(LC-MSN)，作为马里兰大学环境科学中心(UMCES)和南马里兰地区的共享设施。LC-MSN仪器将用于一系列不同的极性分子的结构表征和定量分析，其中大多数是起源于生物的，代表活的物质和代谢物，但也包括新出现的环境和生态健康问题的人为化合物。在从切萨皮克湾到北极的目标生态系统中，复杂的有机混合物被认为是基本成分，但仍有待我们在这里建议获得的最先进工具的充分研究。这一新仪器将促进正在进行的和未来的本科生和研究生研究项目的进一步发展，这些项目需要更高水平的分析精确度来表征海洋和河口生态系统中存在的有机化合物及其直接环境背景。更广泛的影响随着研究能力的增强，该仪器将提供获得尖端仪器和技术的途径，这对研究生来说至关重要。在CBL和更远的地方，将有大量的学生受益于使用这种仪器。一些教职员工还通过NSF-REU项目支持本科生研究。拟议的收购将极大地增强UMCES学生的教学和培训能力。UMCES已经为研究生(MEES研究生课程)和本科生(如马里兰州圣玛丽学院)提供了出色的实践机会，并在培训代表性不足的少数族裔和女性学生方面有着长期的记录。这种乐器将直接对至少一名女性教职员工的早期职业生涯产生积极影响。

The PI requests MRI RAPID funding to acquisition of a state-of-the-art high-resolution hybrid mass spectrometry system and associated peripherals (LC-MSn) as a shared-use facility at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) and in the Southern Maryland region. The LC-MSn instrumentation will be used for structural characterization and quantitative analysis of a diverse suite of polar molecules, most of which are biotic in origin and represent both living materials and metabolites, but also include anthropogenic compounds with emerging environmental and ecological health concerns. In targeted ecosystems ranging from the Chesapeake Bay to the Arctic, complex organic mixtures are recognized as fundamental components, but remain to be fully investigated with the most advanced tools we propose to acquire here. This new instrumentation will facilitate further development of ongoing and future undergraduate and graduate research projects that require new levels of analytical sophistication for characterization of organic compounds present in marine and estuarine ecosystems and their immediate environmental context. Broader ImpactsBeyond enhancement of research capabilities the instrument will provide access to cutting edge instrumentation and techniques is critical for graduate students. The number of student that would benefit from access to this instrument at CBL and beyond is large. Several faculty members also support undergraduate research through NSF-REU programs. The proposed acquisition would greatly enhance the capabilities for teaching and training of students at UMCES. UMCES already provides outstanding hands-on opportunities for graduate (MEES graduate program) and undergraduate students (e.g., St. Mary's College of Maryland), and has a long track record in training of underrepresented minorities and female students. The instrumentation would directly positively impact the early career of at least one female faculty member.