I guess I'll throw in my $0.02 into this one. If you are interested in this
topic...read on, else...hit the _delete_ key/button NOW! 8-)
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Bill Stevens, at S.I.U. wrote:
>> A lot of subtopics suggest themselves: (a) what does your facility do to
>> enhance undergraduate instruction at your institution? (b) does dividing
>> your commitment between research and teaching create conflicts?
>> .........snip
>> Bill
> Fourteen people responded to these questions. At ten institutions
>undergrads had some access to 200 and 300MHz nmrs. The type of access
>was generally very limited and only included upper class courses. Only one
>institution had a Gemini 200 which was bought with undergrad funds and
>used primarily for undergrad teaching, all other instruments were
>primarily research with time sharing for undergrad use.
> Mary Howe
> howe@chemistry.ucsc.edu
Hmm, I guess that "one" must have been us at Nebraska (at least I
"think" I responded to Mary's earlier inquiry). Although we _do_ have the
Gemini-200 just for teaching, I also schedule time (usually once per semester)
time on a research instrument for VT-NMR for a Dynamics Expt., and P-31
NMR for the inorganic lab. I usually run the spectrometer "with" the
students, and essentially give up one week of my time to the U.G. teaching
cause.
What Bill is dealing with is just beginning to affect us at Nebraska. The
usage of our research facility is still heavy, and increasing; therefore,
we have no need to use "teaching" to keep our research facility going.
HOWEVER, there is a BIG push on State University Depts. to RE-emphasize
(or more strongly emphasize) the teaching role in their mission. Under the
current political environment, I forsee an increase in this emphasis and
a decrease in the perceived importance of research... 8-(
About 5 years ago we moved all of our more "sophisticated" into a new location,
and labeled it the "Undergraduate Instrumentation Center (UIC)". The
CW-NMR, AA, FTIRs, "good" UV/Vis, Auto-Pol. Polarimeter,...etc. are all
there under the TLC of a person who takes care of it all. Access is
limited to the "MAJORS" courses, so the big survey classes never see the
stuff. With the new "center", we have managed to get funds for a new FTIR,
the Gemini(2000)-200, and some other neat stuff; however, it is still just
for the upper-level courses. The "problem/conflict" we have is that much
of the $ for the "center" comes from lab-fees, most of which comes from
non-majors in the big survey courses. The faculty who primarily teach the
lower-level courses have a strong argument that this situation is unfair,
and are pushing for more instruments for _them_.
Proposals are being made for doing the FT-upgrade on our EM-390, buying
some new FTIRs, and having them available for use by the high-volume
courses (i.e. sophomore organic). Many problems will need to be addressed...
(1) how do you get 450 students to each take an NMR spectrum in one afternoon?
(2) Where do you put the stuff?
(3) Who's going to take care of it? (The teaching duties for these classes
rotate semester by semester...faculty won't do it, I won't do it....hmmm?)
(4) Who's going to re-write the long-established lab curriculum to take full
advantage of the new instruments?
(5) Once you resolve (1-4) above, is it going to be any more useful than
simply photocopying NMR spectra, and handing them out for interpretation?
As Manager of our Research Instrumentation Facility, my role is to help fix
the instruments when they break. I am officially responsible for maintenance/
repair of the Gemini-200, and unofficially responsible for everything else.
To answer Bill's last point, I expect that if the teaching instruments are
expanded as proposed, there _will_ be conflicts between teaching & research
because one person can only do "so-much"...i.e. what if my 500 and the
undergrad. 200 are both broken at the same time....which do I fix first? For
now, I'd fix the 500 first, but as times change my Department might someday
get different ideas about priorities.
Sorry about the length of this response, but those of us who manage NMR
facilities at "teaching" Universities will likely have to deal with these
issues more in the future.
Best Regards,
Rich Shoemaker
Richard Shoemaker, Ph.D. Phone--(402) 472-6255
Instrumentation Director, Chemistry FAX---- -6964
Research Associate Professor, Chemistry
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
URL: http://wwitch.unl.edu/nmrlab.html