Gas Chromatograph/ Mass
Spectrometer (GC/MS)
This instrument is used to detect organic compounds and complex
mixtures such as pesticides and petroleum distillates. It can detect
levels as low as parts per billion for some compounds, and is a
powerful tool for monitoring environmental contamination. Students
have used it to look for pesticide residues on fruit and herbicide
residue in groundwater seeping into rivers. The GC/MS was acquired
in 1997 with a grant from the National Science Foundation to Dr.
Lisa Lewis, Chemistry.
Example
of a student research project:
Lisa Carson ('99) received an ACS
Women's Chemist Committee Travel Award to present data she collected
with Theresa Eliason ('99) and Paul Garabelli ('02) at a National
American Chemical Society meeting in Austin Texas. These
students are working to understand how TiO2 can be used
to photo-degrade the environmental contaminant carbon tetrachloride.
For more information, contact Dr. Tim Lincoln, Institute for
the Study of the Environment, Albion College, Albion MI 49224.
Phone (517) 629-0486 – e-mail tlincoln@albion.edu
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