SOUTHEAST ALUM ARRANGES GIFT FOR THE CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

A 1971 chemistry graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, through his employer, has donated equipment to the university's chemistry department.

Ed L. Covey, formerly of Portageville and currently director of the GC MS Product Division for Perkin-Elmer Corp. of Norwalk, Conn., has given the department a new Auto System Gas Chroma~tograph with an autosampler, valued at $25,680. The gift was made through the company's corporate contribution committee.

"The (chemistry) department will integrate this instrumentation into its instructional program, providing our students the opportunity to have hands-on use and exposure to the type of automated instrumentation currently commonplace in both academic and industrial chemical laboratories," said Ronald Popham, chemistry department chairman.

The instrument primarily will be used in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of volatile organic compounds.

"This is a major piece of highly sophisticated equipment that we could not buy on our own," Popham said.

Covey has been employed by Perkin-Elmer since 1978, serving in its offices in St. Louis, Houston and currently Norwalk. During his tenure in St. Louis, he provided Southeast with other scientific equipment.

Perkin-Elmer is a publicly held corporation that develops and manufactures various high-technology instruments and devices used in chemical analysis. Total sales of its instrument division are $210 million in the United States and $700 million worldwide.