Resumen de Students Select an Instrument at the Pittsburgh Conference
Students in an Instrumental Analysis course were assigned to choose an instrument for an analysis project during a trip to the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry (PittCon). Students submitted a proposal including the analysis, the type of instrument, and a budget that included the instrument cost as well as the cost of consumables for the system for one year. The students then gathered information on various makes and models of instruments during a one-day period spent at PittCon. Students made a written comparison of two instruments, chose one and presented the results of their project in a 10-minute presentation to the class. The assignment provided a focus for the conference visit and made the exciting experience more fulfilling on a professional level. Students were forced to consider costs associated with modern chemical analysis and to decide what features of the instruments and data systems were important. The conference visit and the project were the highlight of the course.
