Catalyst for Change Starts in Industry and Leads to University of South Carolina
As Research Professor John R. Monnier of University of South Carolina Department of Chemical Engineering explains it, after a career with Kodak and Eastman Chemical (the later a large customer of Overbrook Scientific's line of robotic autosamplers) it was natural to turn to Overbrook again for a dependable autosampler for his own research lab. The Overbrook HT300A is designed for gas chromatography techniques and has proved itself in industry as "reliable, robust and reproducible". Good enough for industry, it has proven to be indispensable at Dr. Monnier's research lab which is focused on heterogeneous catalysis including novel bimetallic catalysts.
SITUATION
Prof. Monnier selected the Overbrook HT300A "because I have strong feelings about how to do successful research ... it's worth it to my research and that of my graduate students to get results that are accurate time after time. If you don't select the right instrumentation that's proven to be reliable and durable, the research results will be sporadic and non-reproducible" says Dr. Monnier.
SOLUTION
Dr. Monnier likes the HT300A so much that he's bought two units. "Overbrook was easy to do business with, as they answered my initial questions to my satisfaction, and the installation was conducted by the firm expeditiously without a flaw". The catalyst evaluation work that we do, such as conversion of petroleum-derived feedstocks to high value chemicals for example, requires exacting analytical instrumentation that the Overbrook HT300A embodies". Today two of his graduate students are using the HT300A autosamplers as part of their dissertation research for reactions including (1), the synthesis of optically-active pharmaceutical intermediates using supported chiral catalysts and (2), the production of useful industrial chemicals from the selective conversion of biomass using novel bimetallic catalysts.
Ted Palashis, president of Overbrook Scientific says "According to a recent study we undertook, research programs at universities nationwide, like USC, are particularly attracted to our robotic headspace autosampler line because of their versatility, robustiness, and cost-effective pricing. Each autosampler in the line does a complete job and does it well - better than more familiar "big brand name" autosamplers. In addition to the HT300A, there's also a new 3-in-1 headspace, liquid injection and SPME sampler unique to the marketplace."
BACKGROUND
University of South Carolina Department of Chemical Engineering (
www.che.sc.edu) is ranked among the top 20% of all Chemical Engineering programs in the US, according to the National Research Council (2010). The recent work of Professor Monnier has focused on the design and synthesis of novel bimetallic catalysts using electroless deposition methods for the selective transformation of hydrocarbons to higher value chemicals and for higher output PEM fuel cells. Catalytic reactions are conducted using automated, multi-flow reactor systems and high pressure batch reactors. The latter class of reactors exclusively uses the HT300A autosamplers. The Department of Chemical Engineering conducts world class research and uses innovative teaching and research methods for its students, industry and government.
Overbrook Scientific, Inc. (
www.overbrookscientific.com) is an instrumentation company which is organized along two lines of business -- Instrument Compliance Services and Engineering Instrumentation Solutions. Featured instrumentation includes the Robotic Autosamplers and Phytronix Technologies' laser diode thermal desorption ion source (LDTD) technology. Overbrook Scientific counts independent and nationally ranked laboratories, start-ups, universites and research institutions, biotech and pharma, CROs, the US Dept. of Justice and others as customers.