Preface and Acknowledgments

The pathway taken to prepare this textbook, Analytical Chemistry, much like a molecule in a packed column, traveled down a "long and winding road." Those who influenced the authors over the past several decades in analytical chemistry education played enormous roles in reaching this destination--including instructors and students.

A major intent of this text was to provide an electronic platform for delivery of Analytical Chemistry so that updates could be made regularly without the need of printing a new edition, in much the way Douglas Adams envisioned his imaginary electronic reference book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In addition, it needed to integrate classroom response questions to the text itself and provide it for a reasonable cost to students. This text is intended for use in a one-semester lecture that can be used subsequently as a reference for analytical chemistry laboratory courses. There are some features recognizable from a traditional textbook, such as key terms in bold italics, learning goals presented at the beginning of each chapter, and Think About It questions for more practice of important concepts and to delve more deeply into the subject matter. Many features are unique, such as embedded classroom response questions (some recommended for use in lecture, others as Homework outside of class), embedded videos and experimental simulations. At the end of each chapter, a Case Study that illustrates application of principles covered in the chapter in a relevant context.

Without doubt, this text would not exist without the encouragement and guidance of our colleagues at TopHat. First, we thank Tomi Gbeleyi, who actually convinced Dr. Wood that it was time to write such a textbook. Throughout the writing process, we have had superb guidance from Alicia Vieth, Nicole Martin, and Delan Hamasoor, who helped not only with technical advice, but provided a great deal of useful feedback that led to an increasingly sophisticated final product. Dr. Wood also appreciates all the time spent talking with Erin Neal about how he has used TopHat classroom response systems in his courses, especially in analytical chemistry, and how we could promote that to the larger higher education community.

Dr. Wood's passion for analytical chemistry was brought alive while he was an undergraduate student at Indiana University. he was blessed (and a little lucky) to have been taught in the classroom with some phenomenal analytical chemists: Professors Mark Wightman, Dennis Peters, Kenneth Busch, Gary Hieftje, Milos Novotny, and Charles Campbell. Their enthusiasm for analytical chemistry and students was contagious, and Dr. Wood does his best to continue their legacy by emulating their approaches to the classroom with his own students. In addition, Dr. Wood wants to thank Professor Busch for the opportunity to do research in his laboratory as an undergraduate student; there is no question that his mentorship and intellect catalyzed Dr. Wood on a path toward the field of mass spectrometry, a technique which he has enjoyed for its ability to solve real-world problems for the past three decades. His passion for analytical chemistry was intensified by classroom professors at The Ohio State University: Professors Susan Olesik, Rick McCreery, Terry Gustafson, Larry Anderson, Daniel Leussing, and Alan Marshall. Dr. Wood especially wants to thank Professor Marshall for his esteemed mentorship as his research advisor and also for the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant for his own quantitative analytical chemistry course. Dr. Wood is deeply indebted to Professor Fred McLafferty, who as his postdoctoral mentor helped him translate his interest in mass spectrometry into the biological sciences, and who helped him to hone his analytical reasoning skills.

Other educators have played important roles in the development of this text. First, Dr. David Hittle, who was Dr. Wood's high school physics teacher, played an important role in illustrating the importance of learning objectives and organization in science teaching. The phrase used in our learning goals here "The student should be able to" is a paraphrase and homage to his wise instruction. Since Dr. Wood joined the Department of Chemistry at UB, he has been very fortunate to be part of a program in analytical chemistry with exceptional colleagues, past and present: Professors Diana Aga, Sarbajit Banerjee, Frank Bright, Stanley Bruckenstein, Luis Colón, Joseph Gardella, and Steve Ray. Their insights, openness, mentorship, and dedication to education have inspired me daily for over 20 years. We are particularly thankful to Professor Gardella for having the faith in the content of Analytical Chemistry to move forward with its adoption in his course as a pilot, and we are grateful for his feedback and those of his students.

A driving force behind the development of Analytical Chemistry was the input of students. Many hours of discussions inside and outside the classroom regarding content, delivery, needs and relevance for the topics precipitated a text in this format. For this, we are ever grateful to all of our former undergraduate and graduate students! Dr. Wood is particularly grateful for the patience, support, and encouragement of his current research group, Emily Sekera, Kayla Mascaro, and Kevin Zemaitis, without which he could never have completed this project. Lastly, Dr. Wood would like to thank his family and friends, with special thanks to his wife Marie Moy and children Kam Wood and Lily Wood for their understanding and support to complete Analytical Chemistry in a timely fashion.

Analytical Chemistry

Table of Contents for Analytical Chemistry