Collaborative NMR Training in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York State

Suny College At New Paltz, New Paltz NY

Investigators

Abstract

Chemistry (12) This project is providing access for two community colleges to the 300 MHz NMR spectrometer on the campus of the State University of New York New Paltz. Students in the community colleges are now being introduced to NMR techniques in their sophomore-level organic chemistry class. The techniques learned at this level are then expanded in advanced chemistry courses when they transfer to a four-year institution. Students at the collaborating institutions, Dutchess County Community College and Ulster County Community College, did not previously have access to an NMR spectrometer and the community colleges were not likely to have the resources to purchase and maintain a high-field instrument. Thus, students taking organic chemistry at these institutions were not exposed to experimental NMR spectroscopy in their curriculum and this presented an additional barrier for them to overcome when they transferred into a Bachelor program. This project is adapted from the collaborative programs at James Madison University, Rider University, and Indiana University. An autosampler is installed on the 300 MHz NMR spectrometer at SUNY New Paltz. Silicon Graphics Workstations equipped with the compatible NMR operating software is installed on the community college campuses. Samples are transported to New Paltz, loaded into the NMR autosampler, and students at the community colleges are then be able to control the NMR spectrometer in real time over the internet. The project also includes initial and ongoing training by the Project Coordinator of the students and faculty at the community colleges in NMR theory and the operation of the spectrometer.