Analytical Chemistry -

A Tradition of Excellence

Family trees reveal more than rich, interesting history about the past-they outline the foundation upon which future generations are built. Analytical chemistry at the University of Minnesota can trace its ancestral roots back to one of the discipline's founding fathers, Izaak Maurits (Piet) Kolthoff, whose outstanding contributions since coming to Minnesota in 1927 include over one thousand research papers, textbooks, and most of all scientific progeny of over 1000 Ph.D.s who can trace their roots to Piet, thereby laying the groundwork for a truly scientific approach to the study of analytical chemistry. We recognize with pride Professor Kolthoff's' achievements during his time at the University of Minnesota, all the while striving to maintain the excellence that he cultivated.

More than the Fundamentals. An Interdisciplinary Approach.

We emphasize, both in research and teaching, the investigation of the fundamental concepts underlying the chemical and physical principles involved in the modern practice of analytical chemistry. A variety of core courses (instrumentation, chromatography, spectroscopy, chemical equilibria) and special topics (electrochemistry, polymer characterization, surface analysis, mass spectroscopy, bioanalytical chemistry and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) are offered on a regular basis, but the curriculum leaves room for individual tailoring. Thus, our graduate students take classes in biochemistry, physics, mathematics, materials science, and chemical engineering depending on their particular interests.

The various research groups in the analytical division make heavy use of the department's instrumentation and computational facilities described elsewhere in this brochure. Equipment housed wholly within analytical research groups includes: an ESCA/Auger/SIMS spectrometer, several plasma deposition and diagnostic systems, two solid-state magnetic resonance spectrometers, state-ofthe-art electrochemical instrumentation, a large number of fully equipped HPLC and GC chromatographs, and a number of special-purpose laser systems.

Our community of nearly forty graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty are actively engaged in diverse research programs in such areas as: heterogeneous catalysis; the construction and characterization of supramolecular structures; the study of pharmaceutical solids; the mechanism and thermodynamics of electron-transfer reactions to biologically important molecules such as metalloproteins and flavoproteins; surface science, with an emphasis on catalytic and electrocatalytic phenomena; theory and development of modem separation techniques; polymer dynamics and characterization; and the design, synthesis, and crystal growth of molecular solids. Yet despite the breadth of these interests, one key word characterizes each program: interdisciplinary. All of our faculty officially contribute to at least one other chemistry specialty area or department on campus; collaborative arrangements with groups in the departments of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Pharmaceutics, Biochemistry, and the Bio-Process Technology Institute are as common as joint projects with other specialty areas within the Department of Chemistry. Members of the analytical chemistry specialty area are also involved in a number of collaborative projects with various industrial concerns both locally and nationally. Our graduate students can expect to be well prepared for careers which expect both an expertise in analytical chemistry and a fundamental, well-rounded knowledge of related disciplines. At Minnesota, the interdisciplinary approach is the rule-not the exception.