Moon Township, Pa. – A grant from the Equitable Resources Foundation will help Robert Morris University (RMU) put vital but otherwise costly scientific equipment in the hands of local high school science teachers.

RMU science and engineering faculty will use the $20,000 grant to build UV-Vis spectrometers, which are devices used to identify materials by measuring wavelengths of light. RMU faculty plan to develop prototypes that could be built using off-the-shelf electronic parts and that would cost about $400 each. Eventually, RMU will offer high school teachers training in how to assemble and use the spectrometers on their own.

“Spectrometers are important for the demonstration of the interaction of light with atoms and molecules. They are also very important for a fundamental understanding of certain types of chemical analysis, and for studying other chemistry topics both directly and indirectly,” said Paul Badger, assistant professor of science at RMU.  Badger will oversee the spectrometer project.

“Equitable Resources has taken a leadership role in the natural gas industry throughout the Appalachian Basin – now we’re taking an equally important lead in contributing to our communities,” said Charlene Petrelli, president of the Equitable Resources Foundation.

“Our business thrives on linking innovation with technology. By supporting efforts like the spectrometer project at RMU, we enable others to find creative ways to use technology to bring new opportunities to our communities,” said Petrelli.

Badger’s goal is for the RMU spectrometer to be portable so that high school and RMU students could use them to conduct field experiments, such as analyzing water and soil samples in nature. Conventional spectrometers cannot be moved out of a laboratory.

RMU already has a strong record of outreach to K-12 students and teachers. More than 1,000 students each year attend workshops, camps, conferences and school visits conducted by the RMU School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science.

Equitable Resources, Inc. is an integrated energy company with an emphasis on Appalachian area natural gas activities, including production, gathering, processing, transmission, storage and distribution. 

Through the Equitable Resources Foundation, the company makes positive, ongoing contributions to the regions where its employees live and work, and uses its resources strategically to promote the growth of strong, livable communities – an essential component of the company’s long-term business success. For more information, please visit www.eqt.com.