The various chromatographs are connected to accommodate control and data analysis through personal computers. Two dedicated fume hoods, stainless steel lab benches, and an easily accessible scintillation counter make necessary radioisotope studies as safe as possible. PCR is a powerful technique for amplification of nucleic acids commonly used in molecular biology research and diagnostics. This laboratory also allows for photographic work since nucleic acid sequencing and probing with 35S and 32P requires the flexibility to develop photographic film in-house on a routine basis. One GC is also equipped with a purge and trap concentrator and a discrete autosampler.
Personal computers collect and store data in digital format from all GCs and HPLCs.
Other equipment and facilities available for use in adjacent laboratories include an ion chromatograph, a radioisotope laboratory with a scintillation counter, two autoclaves, an anaerobic glove box with gassing station, various microcentrifuges, a high speed refrigerated centrifuge, various orbital shaker baths and tables, and gravimetric balances. The lab also has access to particle size and mesopore gas adsorption equipment for soil and sediment characterization. The Alumni and Friends Computational Laboratory is a key component of the Environmental Engineering and Science lab facilities. It houses personal computers, workstations, and printers that are used by Environmental engineering and science graduate students and faculty for data acquisition, analysis, and visualization, for development of mathematical models, and for word processing. This laboratory is essential for the computational research activities in our subsurface science, water and air quality, and environmental systems analysis programs.