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The National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation Program will donate chemistry equipment to two departments at Syracuse University.

The MRI program will donate chromatography-mass spectrometers to SU’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and to the Department of Chemistry, which will use the device in partnership with the College of Engineering and Computer Science, according to an SU news release. The equipment allows scientists to analyze the composition of a larger compound by separating it into smaller parts.

“Our scientists and students will put these to work right away for research and training, while strengthening interdisciplinary connections between departments and colleges,” said Alan Middleton, associate dean of research and scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Receiving two MRI grants within the same year is a “milestone achievement,” according to the release. SU has only received a total of 15 MRI grants in the last 20 years, and the two grants will double how many MRI grants the College of Arts and Sciences has received since 2016.

The chemistry department will use a specific liquid spectrometer to create a new type of modified protein that would prevent the breakup of collagen, a protein that maintains healthy tissue in the human body.

Researchers in the chemistry department will use the spectrometer to confirm whether they have added or subtracted the correct number of atoms for the modified protein to operate properly. The department will also use the devices to create new renewable materials like biodegradable fabric.

The devices will also allow researchers in the earth and environmental sciences department to identify levels of rainfall during a specific period of time.

Researchers in that department plan to use a specialty gas spectrometer to analyze lipids, a type of organic molecule, from ancient sediment. The device will isolate hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen in the lipids, allowing researchers to determine the isotopic ratio and atomic weight of those elements.

With these ratios, researchers can determine information about aspects of past environmental conditions, such as how dry or wet ancient climates were. The device will also allow the department to understand how food energy is transferred from one organism to another.

The devices will be available for SU students’ research training as well as K-12 and community college students who visit SU during summer internships.

Published on October 18, 2020 at 10:42 pm

Contact Maggie: mehicks@syr.edu | @maggie_hickss