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Volume XXII, No. 4 Winston-Salem State University February, 1985
Chemistry Department
Receives New Equipment
By Kenneth Raymond
News Editor
The Natural Science departnemt of WSSU
has recently acquired enough equipment to
help produce some of the best chemical
resesrchers in the country.
Within the past two years, Winston-Salem
State has obtained some of the most advanc
ed chemistry equipment that appears on the
market for the purpose of training students
in the area of chemical research. Not only
has the University acquired them, but have
made additions in order to increase func
tions.
Graduates who major in chemistry at
Winston-Salem State will be well prepared
to work in their chosen field. The same type
of equipment used at WSSU is presently be
ing used by researchers around the coun
try; therefore, no special training in the use
of their equipment would be necessary.
“We have some of the most modern
analytical equipment here,” said Dr.
Fawzy Sadek of Winston-Salem State
University. “What we have is what is ac
tually used in industrial research. We train
our students with them so that when they
graduate ond go to work for research, or in
dustrial quality control laboratories they
will already be familiar with their standard
equipment.” he continued.
Several employees from AMP, R.J.
Reynolds, and the Bowman Gray chemistry
department are presently taking chemistry
and instrumental courses at WSSU and
have used these instruments.
“The equipment that this department has
is what made me decide to take an in
strumental course here at WSSU,” said Del
Rector of AMP.
“I’m really impressed,” said Barbara
Dula of R.J. Reynolds. “I went to school at
WSSU and during that time they didn’t have
any of the equipment here. It’s great know
ing that all of the instruments are available
to the students now. They’ll gain some ex
perience because the equipment used at
WSSU is definitely what’s being used in in
dustry today,” she added.
Working with such instruments,
chemistry majors would gain the necessary
knowledge to do well in their field after they
graduate.
“It’s not good enough to just be able to do
chemistry the old fashoned way these
days,” said Lisa Lovette of AMP. ‘You have
to be able to learn how to use this type of
equipment; it’s really a plus for a student if
he can go into an industry and say that he
has experience in working with these in
struments,” she added.
“When you have experience working with
these pieces of equipment your chances are
great of an industry hiring you,” said Alan
Cooley.
There is no other school in North Carolina
equipped to train chemistry majors like
Winston-Salem State. WSSU is the only
school in the state to have a complete IBM
Liquid Chromatograph, which is among the
most valuable analytical tool available to
day.
“We are the only institution out of the 16
North Carolina universities to have a Liquid
Chromatograph with six detectors,” said
Dr. Sadek. “N.C. State has one IBM unit but
it is not complete,” he added.
Also among the chemistry equipment is a
Mettler Thermal Analysis laboratory 3000.
The Mettler at WSSU is the only one of its
kind within the 16 North Carolina univer
sities. After being computerized it can also
translate its final analysis report in several
foreign languages.
“The Mettler TA 3000 wasn’t made to be
attached to a computer, but it is here,” said
the instructor. “Now it can store the data of
each run and use it in the future without
repeating the same analysis,” he continued.
WSSU also has an Analect FTIR model
6260. The FTIR has the storage capacity of
over 160 Apple computers.
“The FTIR can store an entire library of
information on one hard disk,” said Dr.
Sadek.
Also one of the newest pieces of equip
ment is a Shimadzu Gas Chromatograph; it
is the most compact of its kind in the world.
“This instrument is made by a company
in Italy. There are not many schools that
have one,” said the professor.
Winston-Salem State also purchased the
first two IBM Spectrophotometers sold on
the market.
“We bought the first two of this kind sold
on the U.S. market about a year ago,” said
Dr. Sadek.
These are just a few of the instruments us
ed in the Natural Science department by
chemistry majors at Winston-Salem State
University.
Before the new equipment arrived, the
science department was using instruments
donated from research laboratories as well
as industrial research industries, such as
the Oakridge National Laboratory; but the
largest donor was R.J. Reynolds.
The Natural Science department obtained
federal grants to get the instruments need
ed to educate and train modern chemists.
There are only two pieces of equipment
left to be acquired by WSSU before it can be
considered one of the best places to receive
a degree in chemistry-a Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance and a Mass Spectrometer.
But whether or not WSSU will ever get
these instruments, it is already an institu
tion well-equipped to produce some of the
best graduates suitable for chemical
research in the future.
Chemistry Major Begin Using New Equipment,
photo by; Bonita Perry
Project Strenghten Visits
Ito, Japan
by Mark Sadler
Dr. Wilveria B. Atkinson, advisor and
founder of Project Strengthen enjoys work
ing with the group.
She has a B.S. degree in Zoology from
Howard University and a Ph.D. in
Biology/Immunology from New York
University.
She joined the WSSU faculty in August
1970 and founded the group in 1971.
Dr. Atkinson teaches Anatomy and
Physiology; Immunology; Investing and
Research; and Research in Microbiology.
Her research schedule is 20 hours a week
during the academic year and 40 hours a
week during the summer months.
Her research ajso involves students. She
employs four to five WSSU students each
semester and during the summer as
research assistants and one high school stu
dent as a research apprentice.
Project Strengthen is researching Im-
munopharmacological. The group is trying
to determine the conditions needed for
peritoneal macrophages to secrete a
substance that kills malignant cells but not
normal ones.
They have been working on this problem
for two years. Findings have shown that
they can artificially activate macrophoges
to secrete a tumoricidal substance. They
tested severals agents on their ability to ac
tivate macrophages and screened the secre
tions of the macrophages for tumoricidal
properties. Five students have been involv
ed over a two-year period. Four of them
were continously involved in the research.
In Japan, they presented their research
findings at the 10th International Congress
of the Reticuloendothelial Society (RES).
The title of their presentation was “The
Tumoricidal Capacity of Artificially Ac
tivated Murine Macrophages.” The con
gress was held September 27,1984.
Candis Black and George B. Atkinson two
students WSSU involved in the research,
feel that with the research has broadened
their horizons in Immunology and the other
medical fields. They also feel the project
has given them the chance to apply
themselves in the areas of Histology and
Immunology and has given them
“hands-on” experience in research,
something that many of the students in
terested in Medicine and Medical School
don’t get the chance to experience until
their second or third year in Medical School.
Black and Atkinson both feel that Project
Strengthen is a great learning experience,
and they are grateful to Dr. Atkinson for
allowing them the opportunity to work on
her research projects with her.
They were honored to attend and take a
trip to Ito, Japan, to attend the 10th Interna
tional RES Congress. They were exposed to
a culture that, they felt was truly unique.
They were happy to say that they learned
conversational Japanese and were able to
mingle with the people in Japan. This was
an opportunity, through Project Strengthen
to broaden their cultural background.
Jacquese Black and Phyllis Bass, two
other students involved in the research feel
that through the research undertaken dur
ing the semester, they have gained several
applicable laboratory techniques and far
greater understanding of laboratory pro
cedures and concepts.
What is next for Project Strenghten? Cur
rently, five faculty members are engaged in
basic biomedical research in Project
Strengthen. They include: Dr. Atkinson;
Dr. Nathaniel E. Hewitt, in genetics; Dr.
Kim H. Tan, in biochemical genetics; Dr.
Mortan Heller, in psychology; and Dr.
Nelson Adams, in phsiological psychology.
Dr. Atkinson stated that, they are trying
to increase the number of faculty in the pro
gram and their productivity. Each of these
scientists employs two students. Together,
the 5 of them employ 12 to 14 students.