Ripon College receives grant for new chemistry instrument

The Ripon College Department of Chemistry has received a $10,000 Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grant to purchase a digital polarimeter. This instrument will allow up to 150 students each year to perform lab experiments involving the study of mixtures of optically active molecules.

“The new polarimeter will allow students in a variety of chemistry classes to study optically active or chiral molecules,” said Patrick Willoughby, assistant professor of chemistry. “This is exciting because optically active molecules are fundamental to many organic, organometallic and biological molecules. The polarimetry experiments also will provide insight into the mirror image symmetry of the molecules being studied.”