Chemistry and Biochemistry News

The faculty and staff of the Department at Chemistry wish you a happy and restful Thanksgiving holiday!

Enjoy time with family and friends and come back recharged for the end of the semester!

Chemistry faculty member Dr. Tracey Mason attended the Eastern Analytical Symposium in Princeton, New Jersey earlier this week. She was able to complete a short course on head-space analysis in gas chromatography. Dr. Mason plans to incorporate this new knowledge into an independent research project for the Spring 2020 semester.

The American Chemical Society Club is fundraising to help students travel to the National Meeting this Spring. Until November 22, you can purchase a t-shirt to rep your love of chemistry and support the club.

Follow this LINK to order.

This year in Chemistry Integrative Lab, students are working in groups to complete a quantitative analysis project all their own. They come up with an idea, research it, write a proposal and develop their own methods. This week in lab students are realizing that research isn’t as straightforward as it seems. They are collecting preliminary data and going back to revise their methods. Chemistry majors Jasper and Brian are working on the calculations for the preparation of new calibration standards after realizing the original plan would not be sensitive enough. Other students this week were trying to determine the retention time of a vitamin E standard by HPLC, while others were preparing samples of melatonin for an investigation of the light sensitivity of the chemical. Students will continue to work on their projects, completing a group notebook and a final poster of their experiments.