Instrumentation Design Laboratory

Kenneth L. Ratzlaff
Director and Courtesy Professor of Chemistry

B.S., 1967, Tabor College
M.S., 1969, University of Illinois
Instructor, 1969-1973, Moeding College (Republic of Botswana)
Ph.D., 1975, University of Illinois
Assistant Professor, 1975-1981, Northern Illinois University
Associate Professor, 1981, Northern Illinois University
Associate Scientist, 1981-1986, The University of Kansas
Senior Scientist, 1986-present, The University of Kansas.

Instrumentation Design Lab Page

Personal/Family Page

Research Interests:
Analytical Chemistry: Instrumentation development, computers in chemical education, chemical applications of imaging detectors, electronics for scientists education.

TEL: 785/864-3754
FAX: 785/864-5396
ratzlaff@ku.edu

In addition to the operation of the Instrumentation Design Laboratory, work in several other areas of interest is being pursued. A current project is to reduce table-top instruments to the size that a rat or other animal subject can carry on its back. Projects of this type have multiple dimensions: new low- power design capabilities, new construction techniques, and new software design methods to name a few.

In the field of education, a need remains for techniques for teaching about instrumentation. Students need to be exposed to the concepts of electronic, computer-aided instruments without the burden of an engineering course, all the while dealing with the concepts accurately. Tools for lab-based study are being developed with support from the Dreyfus Foundation.

Representative Publications

  • "Picosecond Time-resolved Laser Spectrometer with Expanded Delay Range," Rev. Sci. Instrum., 59, 2375 (1988) (with J. Bostick, C. Johnson, S. Mounter, D. Schloemer).
  • "HPLC Determination of Transition Metal Ions by Chemiluminescence Detected with a Charge-Coupled Device," Proceedings of the Society for Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, 1055, (1989) (with R. Jalkian and M. Denton).
  • "Computation of Two-Dimensional Polynomial Least-Squares Convolution Integers," Anal. Chem., 61, 1303 (1989) (with J. Johnson).
  • "`Thin-Layer Chromatography Diskette' Storage of High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Effluents with Off-Line Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection," Anal. Sciences, 6, 121-129 (1990) (with J. Strojek, S. Soper, T. Kuwana).
  • "Surface-Enhanced Resonance Raman Spectroscopy of Liquid Chromatographic Analytes on Thin-Layer Chromatographic Plates," Anal. Chem., 62, 1438 (1990) (with S. Soper, T. Kuwana).
  • "Development of a Fourier Transform NMR Instrument Simulator," J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 33, 303 (1993).
  • An Introduction to Computer-Assisted Experimentation, Wiley- Interscience: New York, January, 1987.
  • Charge-Transfer Devices in Spectroscopy, VCH: New York, 1994. (co-edited with Jonathan Sweedler and M. Bonner Denton).
  • "A compact hot-nozzle Fourier-transform microwave spectrometer," Rev.Sci.Instrum.,66(11), 5196 (1995) (with M.D. Harmony, K.A. Beran, D.M. Angst).
  • "An automated tracer dispersal system for snow accumulation and saltation transport investigations," Rev. Sci. Instrum., 69(2), 572-577 (1998) (with D. Braaten).
  • "An inexpensive, semi-automated system for measuring mechanical properties of soft tissues," Journal of Experimental Zoology, 284(4), 374-378 (1999) (with David E. Alexander, Ricardo J. Roggero, and Jennifer S.-Y. Hsieh.)
  • "The Inebri-Actometer: A Device for Measuring the Locomotor Activity of Drosophila Exposed to Ethanol Vapor," Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 107, 93-99 (2001), (with D. Ruden, A. Large, J. Parr and X. Wang.)
  • “In-Channel Electrochemical Detection for Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis Using an Electrically Isolated Potentiostat”, Anal. Chem., 74 (5), 1136 -1143, (2002) (with R. Scott Martin, Bryan H. Huynh, Susan M. Lunte.)
  • “Updated Limits on the Ultra-High Energy (UHE) Neutrino Flux from the RICE Experiment”, 29th International Cosmic Ray Conference Pune, 5, 123-126 (2005) (with I. Kravchenko and co-workers).
  • “RICE limits on the diffuse ultrahigh energy neutrino flux”, Phys. Rev. D, 73, 82002 (2006) (with I. Kravchenko and co-workers).
ratzlaff@ku.edu
 
 

Instrumentation Design Laboratory, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas -- Kenneth L. Ratzlaff, Director