Equipment: Analytical Instrumentation at Sitting Bull College

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the STEM curricular infrastructure at these institutions expands the opportunities of their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. This project aligns directly with that goal. The necessity of modern analytical equipment is almost as great a priority as the necessity of compelling STEM instruction and research. The acquisition of higher resolution, higher speed, and broader capacity instrumentation at Sitting Bull College will have a disproportionately positive impact on the view students have of scientific inquiry and career options. The college will upgrade from a PerkinElmer Atomic Absorption Spectrometer AAnalyst 800 with graphite furnace to a PerkinElmer NexION 1000 ICPMS. The college will also replace its OI analytical flow IV Analyzer with a Xylem FS3700 analyzer. The college uses these instruments for the extensive analytical work that it does with and for the Tribe and to train students from K-12 through graduate studies. The new instrumentation will increase both the speed and range of the college’s analytical capabilities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.