Gas chromatography facility upgrade

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Researchers in the Environmental Engineering group in the Department of Civil Engineering are seeking to upgrade an 11-year old Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS).  The computer operating system will be upgraded to Windows XP from Windows 95 and the ChemStation software will be upgraded to the latest compatible 32 bit version.  The hardware upgrade will bring the Mass Spectrometer Detector (MSD) electronics system to current standards.  This will ensure that the instrument will continue to be supported by the technical agent, Agilent.  Support for the old (5973A) MSD has recently expired.  This means that Agilent will not guarantee the availability of parts in the event of a breakdown.  The upgraded (5973N) MSD will be supported by Agilent until 2013.  The upgrade will also improve the quality of data produced with the instrument.  The new software will be much easier to use than the old ChemStation software which is notoriously difficult to use.  One major advantage is the fact that graduate students performing analyses on the instrument will require much less time in training.  Researchers at UBC are making leading edge contributions to the field of environmental engineering over a diverse range of research projects that includes such topics as organic constituents associated with natural waters, drinking waters, urban runoff, wastewaters, soils and landfill materials, leachates, sediments, sludges, and industrial wastes and products.  These ongoing projects rely heavily on GC and GC/MS analysis.