In the Lab

Campus Resources

In the Lab

  • Green chemistry: The Chemistry department focuses on designing chemical reactions to reduce or eliminate hazardous materials and wastes. Our chemistry curriculum is unique in the level to which it emphasizes pollution control and encourages future scientists to consider the environmental consequences of their science. Their motto: It is not what you do as a chemist, but how you do it.
  • Furthering green chem: There’s still a lot to discover about green chemistry, and Hendrix students are discovering it. Students are involved in faculty-sponsored green research, such as investigate organic solvent replacement technologies. Last summer, for example, students investigated the use of super-heated water as an effective, environmentally friendly alternative to non-renewable petrochemical solvents.
  • Environmental research: It’s a double-whammy—using green chemistry to research short-term solutions for global warming. This summer, two students will assist a chemistry professor in researching the possibility of injecting sulfur compounds into the atmosphere to create a cooling, reflective cloud, as happens naturally when volcanoes erupt. The Hendrix group will produce clusters of sulfur-containing molecules to see which ones have the desired reaction when exposed to ultraviolet light.
  • Two students are currently performing research in Dr. Courtney Hatch’s research laboratory to study the effects of mineral dust aerosol heterogeneous chemistry on biogeochemical cycles, and the chemistry and climate of the Earth’s atmosphere.