Todd_Pagano_working_with_EACH_students_in_labDuring Nov 20 to Dec 1 we had the pleasure to host visiting scholar, prof. Todd Pagano from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), USA. He conducted a two week-intensive course Principles and applications of fluorescence spectroscopy.

In this course, students reviewed the principles of fluorescence spectroscopy, were introduced to the impact of photophysical phenomena on fluorescence data, and discussed new directions of fluorescence in analytical chemistry. Techniques in multidimensional fluorescence spectroscopy with chemometric analysis were highlighted, especially in the context of novel applications in environmental and related fields.

Todd_Pagano_Lecturing_in_EACH_programmeThe course consisted of lectures, seminars, tutorial sessions and a lab practical. The latter was specifically set up for this course by prof. Pagano and was very much appreciated by students. The analysis that was carried out was determination of caffeine in beverages by fluorescence quenching.

Altogether 23 students (out of them 13 EACH students) participated in the course and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Prof. Pagano is a passionate educator. He was the director of the Laboratory Science Technology program at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf, which is a unique science programme, specifically designed for deaf students. He was named “2012 U.S. Professor of the Year” by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Todd_Pagano_setting_up_lab_practical_in_EACH_programmeBesides the EACH Erasmus Mundus JMD, prof. Pagano’s visit was funded as part of a project by the US Fulbright Specialist programme.

(Images: top left, prof. Pagano working with students in the lab; right: prof. Pagano lecturing; bottom left: prof. Pagano setting up lab practical)

 

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