Fieser Devises New Cost Reduction Plan for Chemistry Laboratories

The University will save up to $3,000 annually in chemistry laboratory expenses with a new plan developed by Louis F. Fieser, Sheldon Emery Professor of Organic Chemistry.

After a 18-month study of how laboratory costs could be cut without lowering experimentation standards, Fieser found that cheaper materials may often replace more expensive equipment.

By providing cheaper chemicals and equipment in the laboratory, Fieser plans to cut the university's expenses as well as student breakage costs, without lowering experimentation standards.

Fieser expects his program to begin operating next year, when new simplified equipment will be available in quantity.

Fieser has estimated that the new price-reduction plan will lower the annual expense to the University in Chemistry 20 from $18.20 to $8.32 per student.

The cheaper materials are an adequate substitute for the expensive chemicals and equipment now used in regular laboratory experiments, according to Fieser.

He has discovered several types of chemicals that will hasten reactions in experiments. He has also demonstrated that a simple device can be successfully substituted for more expensive equipment. For example, a clothespin can be substituted for a $28 monometer, it can be used as an ordinary clamp, and can also take the place of a pressure gauge. By replacing ethyl alcohol with a less expensive chemical that has a higher boiling point, Fieser has found a way to reduce one reaction from 24 hours to five minutes.

The simpler equipment will make it possible for students to handle more complicated experiments now beyond the level of the course. In this way the program will enable students to learn more from the courses.

"The plan will generally increase laboratory efficiency," Fieser stated. "Apparently no one has ever thought of the possibility of reducing costs, while raising teaching standards. It is quite simple," he added.

"Also, with the cheaper equipment students will not have to pay as much for the unavoidable breakages in the lab," Fieser said.

Fieser has written a new text for the Chemistry 20 course, which he heads, entitled, "Experiments in Organic Chemistry," published yesterday, and which is a revision of the present course book. It contains improvements on many traditional experiments and includes new ones. The book is the first to contain provisions for his new efficiency method.