Facilities

The chemistry department is based in Valders Hall of Science, where students use modern research-grade instruments, including:

A coupled gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer
An atomic absorption spectrometer
A nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer
Various ultraviolet, visible, and infrared spectrometers
High-performance liquid chromatographs
A spectrofluorimeter
Laser-based instruments

Beginning in the introductory Chemical Principles course, students use computers equipped with special laboratory interfaces to program and collect data for subsequent spreadsheet and graphical analysis. Networked computer labs throughout campus provide facilities for further analysis and writing.

Valders Hall of Science is currently undergoing a $20 million expansion to provide additional teaching laboratories and classrooms, as well as laboratories for ongoing student research.