MAGNOLIA, Ark. —Southern Arkansas University is the only organization in the state and one of only two in the nation to have the latest development in inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometers; a widely-used instrument in elemental chemical analysis.
Earlier this month, the chemistry faculty at SAU welcomed a team of five technicians from Shimadzu Scientific Instruments to install the instrument which should be available for students to use this spring.
“This is as good or better than anything students will see in the workplace, and what is more, they will get hands on experience working with it,” said Dr. Tim Schroeder, assistant professor of chemistry. “At bigger schools, only the graduate student might get to use the instruments. But here, when students have a project, they get to use the equipment. Any instrument we have is OK for students to use once they have been properly trained.”
The purpose of the instrument is to provide state of the art analysis that is useful for a variety of real-life samples including water, motor oils, and minerals.
“It is indeed exciting to see our outstanding faculty gain access to additional technology which will enable them to engage in essential research and to provide our students the opportunity to interact with the latest analytical equipment,” said SAU President David Rankin.
Having the instrument stationed at Southern Arkansas University was one of the components of the Lignite Development Act, which was approved by members of the Arkansas 86th General Assembly. The act provided $100,000 for administrative costs for SAU, the Arkansas Geological Survey and the Arkansas Department of Economic Develop.
In an effort to support the Lignite Development Act, the University invested capital in the new piece of equipment said Darrell Morrison, vice president of finance services at SAU. Morrison said the money spent on the equipment and installation was around $80,000, and came from gifts received by the SAU Foundation that were earmarked to be utilized for equipment in the science and chemistry department.
The purpose of the Arkansas Lignite Resources Pilot Program is mainly to examine the feasibility of the use of lignite as a potential energy source as it is vastly available in Arkansas, including the Magnolia area. Arkansas State Representative Bruce Maloch of Magnolia was a leader of the Lignite Development Act.
“It is essential that we start now to plan for the extraction of lignite coal in South Arkansas, and develop the technologies to do so in an environmentally friendly manner that is both affordable and clean,” Maloch said. “As we continue the discussion of energy policy…I am committed to ensuring that America’s most abundant energy resources, coal, is part of the solution to America’s energy problems.
