Go back

Facilities: Designed for the Sciences

Photo of Sundquist Science ComplexAustin Peay’s science building is one of the South’s premier science teaching facilities, offering students unsurpassed convenience, safety and educational research opportunities. The Sundquist Science Center houses the Department of Biology, Department of Chemistry, Department of Physics & Astronomy, and the Department of Allied Health Sciences.

Instrumentation

Our department houses many major analytical instruments that available for hands on use by students throughout their undergraduate education.

Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer

PerkinElmer AAnalyst 400 with HGA 900 graphite furnace

Used to analyze the metal content of liquid samples with high sensitivity.

PalmSens4

Pine PalmSense4 with cell stand, Faraday cage, and spectroelectrochemical cell

Used to study oxidation-reduction reactions and measure electrochemical properties of compounds.

Agilent Cary 60 UV-Vis

Agilent Cary 60

Used to measure how molecules absorb light in the ultraviolet and visible regions of the spectrum.

Fluorometer

PerkinElmer LS 55

Used to detect and measure fluorescent compounds at very low concentrations.

NanoDrop UltraThermo Scientific NanoDrop Ultra

NanoDrop LiteThermo Scientific NanoDrop Lite

Used to quickly measure the concentration and purity of DNA, RNA, and proteins using only a very small sample volume. The Ultra model is a UV spectrophotometer that is also capable of fluorescence measurements, while the Lite model is only a UV spectrophotometer. 

Microplate Spectrometer

BioTek Synergy H1 Hybrid Reader

Used to rapidly analyze many biological or chemical samples simultaneously using microplates.

 

Flexible Benchtop FTIR Spectrometer, Cary 630 FTIR | Agilent

Agilent Cary 630 FT-IR

FTIR

Bruker Tensor 27

Used to identify chemical functional groups and characterize molecular structures using infrared light.

 

PE Clarus 590

PerkinElmer Clarus 590

Used to separate and analyze volatile compounds in complex mixtures.

Shimadzu GCMS GC2010 and Qp2010SE

Shimadzu GCMS QP2010 SE, AOC-20s autosampler

Used to separate, identify, and quantify volatile chemical compounds within a sample.

 HPLC

Waters Binary HPLC pump 1525, UV/Vis detector 2489, Fraction Collector III

Used to separate, identify, and purify compounds dissolved in liquid samples.

LC SystemSciex 3200 MS

Many thanks to Aegis Sciences Corporation who donated this instrument to our department!

Leap PAL HTS-xt Autosampler, Shimadzu LC20AD XR Chromatography system with CT0-20AC oven, Sciex 3200 Mass Spectrometer

Used to separate and precisely identify compounds in complex liquid mixtures based on mass.

NMR Instrument

Bruker High-performance Fourier Transform (FT) NMR Fourier 80 spectrometer

Used to determine the molecular structure and chemical environment of organic compounds.

XRD Miniflex

Rigaku MiniFlex 6G benchtop X-ray diffractometer

Used to identify crystalline materials and determine their atomic structure.

Our department often uses APSU's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences' Hitachi model TM-1000 SEM housed in McCord.

Used to produce highly magnified images of sample surfaces and microscopic structures.

Our students are first introduced to data collection using instrumentation in their first semester of general chemistry. Vernier technology is used in teaching laboratories to collect and analyze real-time experimental data using digital sensors and probes.Our department has the following Vernier probes:

  • dissolved oxygen
  • Ion selective electrodes (chlorine, calcium, nitrate, ammonium, and potassium)
  • Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) Sensor
  • Conductivity
  • SpectroVis Plus Spectrophotometer
  • Mini GC Plus
  • UV-VIS Spectrophotometer

Department Map

Sometimes it is hard to find the lecture or lab that you are looking for, and even harder to find your professor's office. Please use the below map to help orient yourself to the rooms located in the chemistry department.

The chemistry office is located in A308. If all else fails, find this room and ask Mrs. Bailey Harrison for help!

Chemistry Floor Map

 

  Office Number
   
Dr. Carrie Brennan D318 (Inside D316)
Dr. Laura Chamness C303
Dr. Allen Chaparadza C304- Sabbatical
Dr. Cody Covington D320 (Inside D322)
Dr. Leslie Hiatt A308
Dr. William Hutcherson D213
Dr. Meagan Mann C305
Dr. Fred Matthews D304 (Inside D307)
Dr. Anuradha Pathiranage
D305 (Inside D307)
Dr. Robin Reed A312
Prof. Derek Vander Molen D309
Cord Beck A316
Bailey Harrison A308

 

Our department is located on the third floor of Sundquist Science Center (SSC). To find SSC, please view the campus map located here. There are staircases located at the ends of each wing, a central staircase leading up from the lounge area, and two elevators. Once on the third floor, the main lecture halls (room numbers start with E) are found in the atrium area (hint: glass roof). The labs are located in the wings. The B-wing is physics, C-wing is biochemistry and physical chemistry, A-wing is general chemistry, and D-wing is organic, inorganic and analytical chemistry. On the third floor, we have a library for studying. It has one computer and a printer. Additionally, the third floor has a computer lab in the C-wing that is open for all students when not in use by classes.