Development of a Mobile Spectroscopy Laboratory. Final Technical Report.

This project developed a mobile spectroscopy laboratory, a truck equipped with scientific instruments which can be moved from school to school to provide hands-on experience with instruments normally too expensive for a small school to purchase. A summer conference trained the on-campus participant faculty in the use of the truck-laboratory as well as in trouble-shooting techniques with the instruments to be used. Two instruments were permanently mounted due to temperature and vacuum requirements. Four other instruments were fitted into detachable drawers so they could be used inside the permanent laboratories of the participating schools or moved independently of the mobile laboratory. To encourage cooperation among participating schools, each was free to alter, maintain, or adjust its curriculum. A schedule for movement of the vehicle was made each year by the participants, which also served to foster an increased cooperation among participants. Evaluation conferences were held at the end of the summer after the first two years and an outside panel, listening to accounts of experiences, judged it a success and recommended it for duplication. Newspaper and professional articles, television news coverage, and the presence of the van at national meetings helped to publicize the project. (Author/JN)