News Release

BOISE STATE NEWS RELEASE / April 11, 2008

Purchase of Key Instrument Provides Strong Boost to Boise State's Research Prospects

A key building block of Boise State University’s advancement as a metropolitan research university of distinction could be in place and operational as soon as the fall semester.

The recent purchase of a new nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer and accompanying cryoprobe, as well as related liquids and solids probes, significantly advances research potential in several academic disciplines at Boise State and several key areas of the regional economy, including technology and agriculture.

“Very few universities in the Pacific Northwest, including research universities, have an instrument comparable to this one,” said Mark Rudin, Boise State’s vice president for research. “We’re very excited about how this core piece of equipment will elevate our ability to conduct high level research across a wide range of disciplines. And a number of our partners in government, private industry and academia are quite interested in what it may be able to do for them.”

Delivery and installation of the 600-megahertz spectrometer is expected during the late summer months.

NMR is a technique used to determine how atoms are arranged in molecules. The NMR spectrometer uses a magnet to align atomic nuclei and then identifies their tell-tale responses to irradiation with a radio frequency field. The cyroprobe amplifies the spectrometer’s signal, providing results similar to that of 800- or 900-megahertz instruments without the prohibitive costs associated with them.

Uses include the real-time examination of how medication affects cells and the molecules they produce, the study of body fluid components, the interactions between therapeutic drugs and their molecular targets to aid rational drug design, component analysis of biphasic systems for pesticide or heavy metal remediation, understanding the mechanisms behind chemical reactions and the characterization of new materials, among others.

Boise State’s new NMR opens the door for research needed in the development of a new master’s degree in chemistry and anticipated doctorate programs in biomolecular science and materials science and engineering. The research of at least 13 Boise State faculty members in five departments (biology, chemistry, physics, materials science and engineering, and electrical and computer engineering) will be improved with the purchase.

The new instrumentation is particularly exciting to members of Boise State’s chemistry department, where the equipment will be housed. The equipment provides critical infrastructure for the development of advanced degrees in chemistry, including a new master’s program that could be offered as early as this fall. Currently, Boise State only offers undergraduate chemistry programs.

“This equipment puts our department on par with colleges and universities that offer a doctorate in chemistry,” said Don Warner, an assistant professor of chemistry who did much of the legwork to secure funding for the new equipment. “This will be a cornerstone for the development of our master’s curriculum and eventually our own Ph.D.”

The more than $900,000 in funding for the equipment and installation came from a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant and another $400,000 in funding from various departments at Boise State.

The acquisition also means an existing 300-megahertz NMR spectrometer will be dedicated primarily to undergraduate coursework, increasing the hands-on exposure of undergraduate students to state-of-the-art instrumentation and strengthening their research experience and professional training at Boise State.

In addition to being a boon to Boise State research, Owen McDougal, an assistant chemistry professor, said the technology and agriculture sectors, environmental oversight agencies, health care providers and area colleges and universities could all stand to benefit from the new equipment.

“Our local, national and international partners will sit up and take notice of this,” McDougal said.

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Media Contact: Mike Journee, University Communications, (208) 426-1517, mikejournee@boisestate.edu
 
Boise State University’s new Finish in Four program guarantees that eligible students who follow a planned course of study can complete their degree in four years. If not, Boise State will pay for the additional required courses. More information about Boise State’s graduation guarantee can be found at www.boisestate.edu/finish4.

 

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Last reviewed on Friday, April 11, 2008