Research Facilities and Equipment
Computers
The department is connected to the Computer Systems and Support (CSS), the College of Engineering's primary computational facility for teaching and research.
CSS supports approximately 100 UNIX and 160 Windows NT workstations, supported by more than $10 million worth professional software including the latest versions of Maple, Matlab, Mathematica, and IMSL subroutines. The workstations also can be used to access the University's central computing facility Weeg Computing Center and national computer networks.
For large projects requiring supercomputing, the department also has access to Weeg Computing Center's SGI Power Challenge supercomputer and to all NSF computer centers designated for remote access by universities.
Surface Science
Some of the equipment and techniques currently available for studying catalysis include chemisorption and physisorption (BET), microbalance, mass spectrometer system, mercury porosimetry, gas chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmissions electron microscopy (CTEM), and a variety of reactor systems and catalyst preparation facilities.
Separation and Bioseparation Processes
Equipment for studying separation processes includes a packed bed electrophoresis column, ultrafiltration and microfiltration apparatus, membrane permeability measurement apparatus, immobilized reactor-separators, and fabrication facilities. The laboratories also house supported chromatographs, spectrophotometers, refractive index detectors, and other analytical equipment.
Biochemical Engineering
Facilities include a three-liter agitated bioreactor, fifteen-liter airlift, fully controlled bioreactor, gas and liquid chromatographs, UV-Vis spectro-photometers, centrifuges, carbon di-oxide incubators, Coulter particle counter, rotary shaker, autoclave, as well as 2-D gel and electrophoresis equipment.
Applied Biocatalysis
A laboratory designed for studying enzyme, immobilized wholecell, and bioseparation technologies houses instrumentation including a dedicated HPLC, a gas chromatograph, an infrared spectrophotometer, and a UV-Vis scanning spectrophotometer.
Photopolymerization Science and Engineering Facilities
The photopolymerization science and engineering laboratory is well equipped with instrumentation for conducting and characterizing a variety of light-induced reactions. A computerized, fiber-optic spectrometer and a high-speed thermocouple data acquisition system are available to ensure that light intensities and temperatures are well-characterized. Photopolymerization experiments may be performed on a 3 foot by 8 foot vibration-damped optical bench which is used to mount components such as lamps, lenses, filters, mirrors etc. The polymerizations may be initiated by light from one of four lamps : i) a 1000 watt mercury-xenon lamp, ii) a 200 watt mercury-xenon lamp, or iii) a 100 watt mercury lamp, or iv) a 3000 watt arcless lamp. Passing the beam through available filters and monochromators allows the wavelength and/or intensity of the incident light to be varied and controlled. A UVIcure UV curing integrating radiometer is used for measuring light intensities under different conditions. A Hewlett Packard UV-VIS 8452A diode array spectrophotometer is available for characterizing the absorption profiles of components such as monomers, sensitizers and initiators. Fluorescence spectra are collected using an Aminco-Bowman Series 2 Luminescence Spectrometer equipped with a thermostated sample cell holder. A Perkin Elmer Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC 7) is outfitted with a Mercury lamp and transfer optics for photopolymerization kinetic studies.