Science Laboratories

Significant research and training facilities are available in the Lehman science departments.

In the Department of Biological Sciences , the Phytochemistry Laboratory is a newly renovated facility in Davis Hall (Room 119). It is fully equipped with instruments used for the identification and purification of natural products, including a gas chromatograph, high-performance liquid chromatographs (HPLC), and a liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer (LC-MS). The Molecular Biology Research Facility contains sophisticated instrumentation for molecular biology, cellular biology, and biochemical research. The equipment includes a D.N.A. synthesizer, HPLCs, ultracentrifuges, high-speed centrifuges, phosphorim ager, scanning spectrophotometers, electrophoresis systems for a protein and nucleic acid analysis and DNA sequencing, and computers for integration with the instrumentation. Bioimaging facilities include a confocal microscope, fluorescence microscopes, and scanning and transmission microscopes. There is a recently built research greenhouse, as well as an older greenhouse.

A Biological Sciences Computer Center is integrated into the research instruments in the Biological Sciences Department and enables students to learn how to operate state-of-the-art scientific instruments. The Center has real-time videoconferencing capabilities to allow faculty to incorporate research results and access the Internet while teaching courses.

Noteworthy research equipment and facilities in the Department of Chemistry include nuclear, magnetic, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometers, uv-visible and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometers, gas, and high-pressure liquid mass-spectrometer-interfaced chromatographs, teaching and research labs, and a student computing facility.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is conducting cutting-edge research in nanoscience, quantum optics, and string theory. Undergraduate and graduate students are involved in research that is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Department of Anthropology houses research laboratories in anthropological genetics, archaeology, osteology, and paleoanthropology, a secured forensic evidence facility, and a teaching laboratory. The department has developed an extensive human and primate osteologic and fossil cast collection that is used for classroom laboratory exercises and independent student research. The osteology and paleontology laboratories are equipped with traditional osteological measurement tools along with a 3D laser surface scanner, a 3D digitizer, a 3D printer, and computer workstations for 3D morphometric analysis and visualization. The archaeobotany laboratory is equipped with Leica microscopes, slide preparation, and a comparative library of fixed pollen samples for the analysis of archaeological pollen samples. The anthropological genetics laboratory is equipped with molecular biology instrumentation for DNA extraction, genotyping, sequencing library preparation, and computational analysis.

All these departments and researchers have easy access to the academic computing facilities at the College as well as the mainframe computer at the City University Computer Center.