This blog contains direct quotes from websites as of today’s date. Programs and policies do change, at colleges, from time to time, so please check with the colleges directly to receive any updates. These are not, necessarily, the biggest, best, or most popular programs at the college, but they are the ones that just “caught my eye” as unique, special, interesting, or just plain awesome. They are randomly listed in the blog section of this website. Enjoy!
The college may be small, but the science research opportunities are huge!
From the Monmouth College website (2023): “Summer research and special projects: The Richard “Doc” Kieft Endowment, established by a former Monmouth chemistry professor, allows our department to support up to a dozen students on campus for summer research each year and take up to 16 students per year to the National American Chemical Society meeting to present their work.
“Another former professor, W. S. Haldeman, endowed the department with a library fund that provides access to research journals, book and periodical publications, and the latest in chemistry and scientific software. We’ve got it all.
“We believe undergrad research starts in your first year not in your third
Research instills scientific confidence and independence in our students. It enables them to apply and broaden their knowledge learned in the classroom. And it’s an invaluable way to strengthen scientific communication skills.Our latest Keift Scholars with our chemistry faculty.Our latest Keift Scholars with our chemistry faculty.
“Students are required to register for two semesters of research and spend at least one summer in a Research Experience for Undergraduates program at a research university or in our “Doc” Kieft Summer Research Program.
“Students recently in off-campus summer programs:
Seth Croslow ’21 – Boston College
Esther Hubbard ’21 – Saint Louis University
Katie Richter ’21 – Northern Illinois University
Julia Sterr ’21 – Rural Health Professions Summer Preceptorship
“Labs and equipment: Alumnus William LeSuer provided an instrumentation endowment, which allows the department to purchase, on average, a major piece of instrumentation each year. There isn’t much our students can’t do in our lab spaces. They have the opportunity to be truly creative and innovative when designing experiments, since resources will never be a barrier.
“Small school, big resources. Wide range of spectrometers. Spectrometers are used to measure the spectral signatures of components within a mixture. Spectrophotometers specifically measure electromagnetic radiation (light – ultraviolet, visible or infrared). Our different instruments are capable of studying: atoms, light, electrons, nuclei and mass:
Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectrometer
Fluorescence Spectrometer
Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer
Infrared Spectrometer
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer
UV/Vis Spectrometer
UV/Vis Spectrometer
“Several chromatographs: Chromatography is common way in which components of a mixture are separated. Different instruments can be used to purify compounds on a preparatory scale, separate compounds on an analytical scale, or study the ions present in a mixture. We have:
Flash Chromatograph
Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer
High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (3 different kinds)
Ion Chromatograph –
“Specialty instruments and equipment: Monmouth also uses some instruments that have particular roles, such as measuring the heat or energy of a reaction, or the surface tension of a layer of compounds.
BioRad Electrophoresis systems for Agarose and Acrylamide Gels
Bomb Calorimeter – Parr Instruments
Electrochemical Potentiostat – Pine Wavedriver 10
FiberCell System (Duet P3202)
High Fire Kiln – Paragon, used for making materials like ceramics
High Vacuum Schlenk Line
Langmuir Troughs – Kibron LB (we have two) and G2 (one)
Plate reader with incubator/Shaker – Used for monitoring cell growth
“Maker space tools: Recently we have been branching out into the maker space (spearheaded by physical chemist Brad Sturgeon). Our maker space includes:
Glass Blowing Equipment
Laser Cutter/Etcher – Full spectrum 40W CO2 Laser
3D Printers – Prusa MK2S FDM (we have two), Prusa MK2S Multimaterial (one) and FormLabs Form2 SLA (one)”
WOW, right?
Monmouth is one of the 31 featured colleges in my new book:
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