FIRM DONATES EQUIPMENT TO SEMO STATE UNIVERSITY

The Perkin Elmer Corp. donated a new plasma emission spectrometer to the chemistry department at Southeast Missouri State University.

Southeast received the donation with the assistance of Edward L. Covey, a 1971 chemistry graduate of Southeast and a director at Perkin Elmer.

The spectrometer, valued at $113,330, can measure up to 73 elements simultaneously in just a few minutes, said Dr. Ronald Popham, chemistry department chairman.

The instrument is one of the most powerful tools for trace metal analysis in analytical laboratories today. The instrument's operating parameters are computer controlled, as is all the data acquisition and data processing. Its ability to measure both part per billion levels and major levels of most metals make it an extremely versatile instrument used by laboratories working with metallurgical, environmental, geological, petrochemical, forensic, food, agricultural and biological samples, Popham said.