Facilities
What better way is there to inspire, excite and energize the young people of today than through immersive experiences? For this reason CNHS facilitates experiential learning through hands on projects giving students opportunities to ‘learn by doing’, a pedagogy known as ‘authentic learning’. Students also have opportunities to engage and contribute to research by working alongside CNHS faculty. Such experiences are often transformative, with students being given the ability to contextualize what they have learned in the classroom. These opportunities encourage deep learning, preparing students for critical reflection and the world of work.
Such experiences are possible due to a diverse set of specialized labs within CNHS that span all the disciplines taught and researched within the College, including chemistry, ecology, environmental science, geology, nutrition, and psychology. These facilities also open up opportunities for innovative multi-disciplinary research. To find out more about each specific lab, explore the dropdown menu above.
Our faculty, students and stakeholders have access to a wide range of equipment e.g. HPLC; GCMS; AASFS/GF; ICP OES; TOC; FTIR; UV-VIS; XRD, SPM among others.
Hyperspectroscopy Laboratory
Instrumentation Laboratory
Aqueous Geochemistry Laboratory
The Aqueous Geochemistry Laboratory emphasizes the elemental analysis of rocks, soil, water, biologic materials, and experimental laboratory solutions. Major equipment includes a Thermo Scientific inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) and a ion chromatograph (IC). The laboratory also contains auxiliary equipment commonly employed in wet chemical research, including balances, pH meters, centrifuges, water baths, and drying ovens.
Microbiology Laboratory
The Microbiology Laboratory contains standard microbiology and molecular biology equipment, including an autoclave, sterile HEPA-filtered benches, centrifuges, PCR workstations, and DGGE and gel electrophoresis equipment. The laboratory also houses a Flx800 Bio-Tek microplate reader spectrophotometer, epifluorescent microscope equipped with a digital camera, among other equipment.
Nutrient Analysis Laboratory
The lab provides a wide-range of analyses for environmental and biological samples using state-of-the-art analytical equipment and techniques.
Marine Science Lab
The lab performs chemical analysis in support of the research community. The services offered include Seawater nutrients and Elemental (CHN) analysis.
Air Quality Lab
The lab is equipped with sensor technologies for indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring
Organic Chemistry Lab
High Pressure Liquid Chromatographic systems (one preparative) Including:
-
Low and high gradient options,
-
Different detection methods (refraction index, UV and/or Diode Array Detection, Evaporative Light Scattering detection and Fluorescence detection
-
Gas Chromatographic systems
Environmental Simulation and Remote Sensing Lab
The lab is a focal point for research and teaching both remote sensing and GIS skills. Geographic Information System (GIS) and digital image processing systems include Arc/Info and ArcGIS (for both PC and Windows NT), Erdas Imagine, and other environmental and geosciences software.