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

在理查德·L·博伊斯博士的指导下，北肯塔基大学获得了一笔赠款，用于部分支持购买碳、氢、氮和硫(C、H、N和S)的元素分析仪。该仪器连同相关的样品制备设备，将用于生物和化学领域的一些研究。这包括为科罗拉多和肯塔基州开展的项目分析树叶中的碳和氮；蝌蚪潜在食物资源中碳和氮的数量及其从食物中吸收的数量；正在俄亥俄河和赤道南美洲的湖泊进行的硅藻研究中的水和沉积物样本的C、N和S含量；富勒烯-过渡金属二元体和新的线性多金属链的设计；芳二炔的伯格曼环化和芳二烯在新颖的推拉式环烯中的掺入。该仪器每年将用于培养一批本科生。由于北肯塔基大学主要是一所本科院校，而且所有的PI都不在有研究生课程的系中，所有这些研究都涉及并培训本科生。元素分析仪的速度和安全性将使PI能够让更多的本科生参与研究。预计该仪器将用于化学和生物高年级课程。收购这一仪器将使北肯塔基大学能够让更多的女性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的学生从事研究；这一工具将使大学能够培训更多这些代表性不足的群体进行研究，从而建立大辛辛那提/北肯塔基州地区的研究基础设施。购买这台设备还将使私人投资机构能够开展目前无法进行的研究，因为目前的仪器不分析C，而且对于这些研究产生的样本量来说太慢了。

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.