August 1, 2008
Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina has selected MeasureNet in an upgrade of data acquisition capabilities for its Chemistry Department laboratories. The University is the first institution of higher learning in North Carolina to adopt MeasureNet.
Appalachian State's Chemistry Department boasts over 125 majors that include concentrations in forensic and pre-professional areas. Areas targeted for MeasureNet use include the Biochemistry and Quantitative Analysis Laboratories where a special focus will include influent and effluent analyses from the local waste water treatment plant.
Opened as Watauga Academy in 1899, the institution's founders were driven my the desire to educate teachers for the mountains of northwest North Carolina. The Academy became Appalachian State Teachers College in 1929 with an enrollment of over 1,300 students with many enrolling in primary school teaching programs. The University took its current name in 1967.
Successive administrations at Appalachian State since the 1970s have focused on academic excellence through the recruitment of first-rate faculty, new international studies programs, and capping resident enrollment at a maximum of 10,000 students. The results of these progressive changes have garnered regular recognition of Appalachian State in national publications such as U.S. News & World Report as one of the outstanding comprehensive universities in the Southeast and nation. The university was selected as Time Magazine's "College of The Year" in 2001.
"We are delighted to include Appalachian State University in our community of users." said MeasureNet President Robert Voorhees. "The institution's academic reputation is impressive and we're excited about the planned application of MeasureNet in a variety of engaging and topical areas of chemistry."
MeasureNet Technology Ltd. manufactures patented, network-based data acquisition interfaces for science teaching laboratories. It is a spin-off of the University of Cincinnati's Department of Chemistry and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Measurenet's award-winning, PC-reducing design helps reduce laboratory maintenance and operational costs while giving students access to high quality shared UV-vis spectroscopy, gas chromatograph and HPLC connectivity, and an array of innovative probeware. Its acclaimed intuitive design provides improved transparency to enable better science-focused learning. Winner of the Ohio Governor's Award For Excellence in Energy Efficiency, MeasureNet networks are found in universities, community colleges, high schools, and vocational training centers across the United States and around the world. MeasureNet is celebrating its tenth anniversary of category-leading data acquisition in 2008.
For more information contact:
Robert Voorhees
President and Founder
tel. toll-free: 866-396-6765
voorhees@measurenet-tech.com
June 30th, 2008
MeasureNet was recently chosen to equip two chemistry laboratories of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The University is the sixth institution of higher learning in the state to employ MeasureNet in their science teaching laboratories.
Founded in 1809 and named after the Miami Indian Nation historically inhabiting the region, the public university is home to over 14,200 undergraduates. College rankings published in 2008 by U.S. News & World Report listed Miami University 27th among the top public universities in the nation, recognizing Miami for providing "outstanding examples of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success." Kaplan Publishing's 2005 edition of The Unofficial, Biased Guide to the 331 Most Interesting Colleges recognizes Miami as one of the country's top schools. The rankings are based on a survey of guidance counselors at public and private high schools. Miami was named one of 30 schools in the United States that offers "an education comparable to that at Ivy League universities at a fraction of the price" in the book The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Universities.
According to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry's Professor Neil Danielson, some 150 students per year will utilize the Department's two 12-station MeasureNet Networks. "First year Bachelor of Science chemistry majors laboratory (Sections CHM 153, CHM 161) will initially use the MeasureNet system for titrations and molecular spectroscopy. Some of the same experiments in the third year analytical chemistry laboratory (CHM 364) for BA chemistry majors will also be adapted for MeasureNet"
Danielson said that MeasureNet will play an active role in reforming experiments and supporting undergraduate projects. "The MeasureNet system will update titration experiments that still demonstrate important chemistry such as acid-base, precipitation, and metal complexation. In addition, it will provide individual experimentation in molecular spectroscopy. We expect some of the final 'research' projects in CHM 364 will also benefit from MeasureNet equipment use. Currently CHM 455, the advanced instrumental analysis laboratory for BS chemistry majors, has a research component in which I expect MeasureNet could be involved."
"It is a pleasure and an honor to welcome Miami of Ohio into our user community." said MeasureNet Director of Marketing Michael Kurutz. "Miami has received many accolades for academic excellence in recent years and MeasureNet will play a key role in supporting the continued quality of the Chemistry laboratory program for many years to come."
Miami joins Ohio MeasureNet users Xavier University, Lourdes College, Bowling Green State University-Firelands, Mt. Vernon Nazarene College, and the University of Cincinnati.
MeasureNet Technology Ltd. manufactures patented, network-based data acquisition interfaces for science teaching laboratories. It is a spin-off of the University of Cincinnati's Department of Chemistry and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Measurenet's award-winning, PC-reducing design helps reduce laboratory maintenance and operational costs while giving students access to high quality shared UV-vis spectroscopy, gas chromatograph and HPLC connectivity, and an array of innovative probeware. Its acclaimed intuitive design provides improved transparency to enable better science-focused learning. Winner of the Ohio Governor's Award For Excellence in Energy Efficiency, MeasureNet networks are found in universities, community colleges, high schools, and vocational training centers across the United States and around the world. MeasureNet Ltd. is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2008.
For more information contact:
Robert Voorhees
President and Founder
tel. toll-free: 866-396-6765
voorhees@measurenet-tech.com
> Miami University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
June 10, 2008
If you've set your sights on a career in pharmaceuticals, health care, or other science-related industries, the School Of The Sciences in Philadelphia is a premier stop on the undergraduate college tour. Founded as the Philadelphia School of Pharmacy in 1821, it was the first school dedicated to pharmaceutical science in the United States.
Lilly, Rorer, McNeil, Wyeth, Warner, Burroughs... you may recognize the names of six of the world's largest and most successful pharmaceutical companies. You also should know that these individuals were all USP alumni. Other USP graduates helped pioneer the use of the X-ray, find the gene for colon cancer, invent medical ultrasound gel, and invent a popular physical therapy device for helping patients regain the use of their knees after surgery.
The 35-acre campus in Philadelphia's University City is home to over 2,800 students and 80 state-of-the-art laboratories. Some 90 percent of USP's students have employment or have been accepted for advanced study on their day of graduation. The University ranks third amongst comparable institutions for graduates receiving advanced degrees in the medical sciences, while it ranks in the top 11 percent of 1,150 comparable institutions whose graduates have gone on to complete doctoral degrees in the sciences.
MeasureNet is now standard equipment at USP. Two twelve-station networks are being deployed to the institution's General Chemistry Program which serves more than 600 students per semester. The networks are being installed, along with new and adapted curriculum, into two newly-renovated laboratories.
According to Chemistry Professor Madhumati Mahalingam, the switch to MeasureNet from a previous interface system was driven by a number of concerns. "When we implemented CBL interfaces, we had 12 lab sections with 30 students each. Soon the enrollment increased to 18 labs with 30 students. As a result of the increased usage, we ran into problems pretty soon with link errors between the interface and the calculator because of link cables being worn out or the link connectors on the calculators being worn out. That became quite frustrating. ...We did try to provide our own calculators but couldn't sustain the numbers we were losing each semester."
In addition to hand-held devices, Mahalingam added that PC-based interfaces were seen as a less than optimal solution for the department's General Chemistry laboratories. "All of these problems prompted me to look for a system that was robust and able to take the wear and tear of the large numbers of students, as well as provide the flexibility of using modern technology and the internet to simplify and reduce the time for data acquisition. We looked to upgrade to computers with the Vernier™ probes but due to the power requirement of installing that many computers in the lab, as well as the added hazard of a corrosive environment for the computers, it did not seem like an ideal choice. In fact, when the two options were presented to the IT department here, they recommended going with MeasureNet. MeasureNet stations are built for the Chemistry lab environment unlike computers. In addition, the networking capability and the ability to share class data over the network is ideal in promoting collaborative learning as well as provides ability for statistical analysis of data."
"We are delighted to have such a prestigious institution as the University of Sciences as a MeasureNet user." said MeasureNet President Robert Voorhees. "The track record and achievements of their graduates in the sciences are enviable. MeasureNet will now be a part of the world-class preparation given to all USP students."
MeasureNet Technology Ltd. manufactures patented, network-based data acquisition interfaces for science teaching laboratories. It is a spin-off of the University of Cincinnati's Department of Chemistry and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Measurenet's award-winning, PC-reducing design helps reduce laboratory maintenance and operational costs while giving students access to high quality shared UV-vis spectroscopy, gas chromatograph and HPLC connectivity, and an array of innovative probeware. Its acclaimed intuitive design provides improved transparency to enable better science-focused learning. Winner of the Ohio Governor's Award For Excellence in Energy Efficiency, MeasureNet networks are found in universities, community colleges, high schools, and vocational training centers across the United States and around the world. MeasureNet Ltd. is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2008.
For more information contact:
Robert Voorhees
tel. toll-free: 866-396-6765
voorhees@measurenet-tech.com
> USP Chemistry and Biochemistry Homepage
The secret is out! A recent article titled Method is more vital than teacher by AP Science Writer, Seth Borenstein, May 13, 2011, summarized a paper published in the journal Science. The title of the paper Improved Learning in a Large-Enrollment Physics Class by Louis Deslauriers, Ellen Schelew and Carl Wieman (Science 13 May 2011:Vol. 332 no. 6031 pp. 862-864).
The research concluded "students learned a lot more from teaching assistants using interactive tools than they did from a veteran professor giving a traditional lecture".
Lecturers are learning what science lab instructors have know for decades, "students learn best by doing".
MeasureNet Technology has been helping chemistry lab instructors with this goal for over 13 years. MeasureNet's Laboratory Electronic Measurement and Data Collection Technology is used in university chemistry labs by students to measure, store and analyze data they collect doing their lab experiments. This hands on real-time interactive activity helps students reinforce and apply what they have learned in lecture. MeasureNet's patented unique Network design takes this interactive learning to the next level by connecting students to the lab TA or instructor while they are are conducting the experiments all in real-time. Using MeasureNet's real-time monitoring capablities TA's can monitor student experiments to make sure they are conducting the experiments properly. This allows the TA to intervene if they see a problem to make sure the student leaves the lab with good data. The validated data is then up-loaded to MeasureNet's cloud based data storage site for later graphical analysis which will be included in the students lab report.
The MeasureNet system is a product of research conducted at the University of Cincinnati by Robert Voorhees, Estel Sprague and Paul McKenzie.
For more information contact:
Robert Voorhees
President & Founder
Ph: 866.396.6765
voorhees@measurenet-tech.com