The Pacific University Chemistry Department has acquired a new nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) instrument, replacing the 18-year-old instrument previously used by students. The instrument contains a superconducting magnet and allows students to study the structure of molecules. Organic chemistry students may use it to learn to interpret different molecules, while research students may use it “to identify if they made what they meant to,” explained Dr. Kevin Johnson, associate dean of the School of Natural Sciences. The old 200-megahertz instrument was decommissioned this summer, making way for the new, 300-MHz instrument.