Active research programs leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are available in both nuclear and radiochemistry in the Department of Chemistry at Florida State University. Lecture and laboratory instruction in the theory and practice of nuclear and radiochemical research are part of the degree programs. A wide spectrum of research instrumentation is available in the different laboratories from the Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator, an isotope separator, various nuclear particle spectrometers and multichannel analyzers, and conventional counting equipment. In addition, the various research programs have connections with similar programs at the Department of Energy national laboratories and graduate students may spend a portion, or even a majority of their time, in residence at one of these laboratories. Alternately, scientists from the national laboratories spend periods of time each year on collaborative work using the facilities at The Florida State University.
Professor Raymond K. Sheline directs a group whose principle interest is in the properties of deformed nuclei. By magnetically analyzing the particles produced in nuclear reactions, the nuclear configurations, nuclear shapes, spin, parity, and energy of the various nuclear states are deduced. The reaction studies at The Florida State University are closely tied with similar studies at Los Alamos and Berkeley. In addition, there is an active program to study the muonic x-rays emitted from atoms in which an electron has been replaced by a muon using the LAMPF facility at Los Alamos.
The group directed by Dr. Gregory R. Choppin is primarily concerned with the chemistry in aqueous solution of the heaviest, radioactive elements. The thermodynamic parameters and kinetics of complex formation for the transuranium elements with a variety of organic and inorganic ligands have been measured. The behavior of the 5f actinide elements is contrasted with that of the 4f lanthanide elements in an attempt to gain deeper understanding of the role of f-orbitals in chemical bonding and reactions.
A second aspect of the program is concerned with the environmental behavior, particularly in aqueous systems, of actinide elements. The binding of the transuranium elements by humic and fulvic acids as well as by carbonate, fluoride, and other inorganic an organic species found in the environment are subjects of investigation. Potentiometry, calorimetry, NMR, absorption, and fluorescent spectroscopy and solvent extraction are among the techniques regularly used in studies with f elements where the concentration s range from 10-9 M to 10-2 M.
For further information, please contact either of these faculty:
Dr.Raymond K. Sheline, Dr. Gregory R. Choppin
The Florida State University
Department of Chemistry
Tallahassee, FL 32306-3006
** or write directly to:
The Chairman of Graduate Admissions
The Florida State University
Department of Chemistry
Tallahassee, FL 32306-3006
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