Pete E. Poston, Ph.D
Professor of Chemistry
Western Oregon University
345 Monmouth Ave N
Monmouth, OR 97361
(503) 838-8218
Office DFSC 211 postonp@wou.edu
Welcome to my Homepage, where
you can find class materials, my schedule, as well as
many useful chemistry-related links and IOS apps.
I do engage in student
research projects, and you can learn more in the research
section.
My name is Pete Poston, Professor of Chemistry at
Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR. I received my BS in
Chemistry from Fort Lewis College, in Durango CO. I received my
Ph.D in Physical-Analytical Chemistry from the University of Utah
under the mentorship of Prof. Joel M. Harris.
I teach a wide variety of courses including General
Chemistry, Quantitative Analysis, Instrumental Methods,
Computational Chemistry, Environmental Geochemistry, and
Experimental Chemistry.
In my free time, I love to photograph and hike the
spectacular redrock wilderness of the Colorado Plateau. And for
most of my life I've been fascinated with the history, people, and
culture of the Himalayas and Karakoram - browse my Mount Everest Trek
(1996), Overland
Journey from Kathmandu to Lhasa (2000), and K2 Base Camp
Trek (2007) webpages.
Education
Post-Graduate
Post-doctoral
Research Fellow with Prof. Stephen Bialkowski at Utah State
University , studies in Photothermal Spectroscopy at the
National Center for Bio-Catalysis Science and Technology
Graduate
Graduation 8/89; Ph.D
Physical-Analytical Chemistry, studies in Photothermal
Spectroscopy under Prof. Joel Harris, University of Utah,
Salt Lake City, UT
Undergraduate
Graduation 8/84; B.S. Chemistry, Fort Lewis College
Chemistry Dept., Durango, CO, 81301
Graduation 8/81; B.S. Geology, Fort Lewis College Geology
Dept., Durango, CO, 81301
Professional Experience
September 2002 - present
Professor of Chemistry - Western Oregon
University , Division of Natural Science &
Mathematics, Monmouth , OR , 97361
Summer, 2008
Volunteer – Hans Flat Ranger Station,
Maze District, Canyonlands National Park , UT ; studied
the composition of Barrier Canyon-style rock art pigments
using Raman Spectroscopy
September 1995 - September 2002
Associate Professor of Chemistry -
Western Oregon University , Division of Natural Science
& Mathematics, Monmouth , OR , 97361
September 1990 - September 1995
Assistant Professor of Chemistry -
Western Oregon University
August 1998 - present
What's New Editor for the journal
Applied Spectroscopy - monthly column reporting on new
instrumentation, electronics, and software of general
interest to the spectroscopic community.
October 1999 - June 2002
Webmaster for the Society of Applied
Spectroscopy
September 1997 - June 2000
Department Chair, Earth & Physical
Sciences - Western Oregon University
June 1989 - August 1990
Post-doctoral Research and Teaching Fellow
with Prof. Stephen Bialkowski at the Center for
Bio-Catalysis Science and Technology, Utah State
University, responsible for laser related photothermal
instrumentation; teaching of General Chemistry.
September 1984-August 1989
Graduate Research And Teaching Fellow
under Prof. Joel Harris at the U of Utah Chemistry Dept.,
research in Photothermal Spectroscopy, taught General
Chemistry labs and recitations
January 1981 - April 1982
Mine Operations Geologist - Homestake
Gold Mine, Lead, South Dakota , responsible for all
geological activities in Division IV, including sampling,
diamond drilling, mapping, and ore inventory
September 1980 - December 1982
Assistant Geologist - Co-op position at
the Schwartzwalter Uranium Mine, Boulder, CO, logged drill
core, setup diamond drilling, repaired geiger counters,
generally backed up activities of Mine Geologists
My research interests are in applications of Laser Raman
Spectroscopy and Xray Fluorescence to such diverse fields as
Nanotechnology, Analytical Chemistry, and even a bit of Achaeology
through the study of cartridge cases from the Battle of the Little Big Horn and rock art pigments found on the Colorado
Plateau.
“Portable Xray Fluorescence Analysis (pXRF) of Cartridge Cases From the Battle of the Little Big Horn”, preliminary report submitted to the National Park Service, 2016.
“Stable, Dispersible Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering
Substrate Capable of Detecting Molecules Bound to
Silica-Immobilized Ligands”, Pete E. Poston and Joel M. Harris,
Applied
Spectroscopy, 2010, 64, 1238-1243
I should add that some other rock art researchers and me were
fortunatate enough to be included in a National
Geographic "America's Wild Spaces" special about Canyonlands
National Park.
"Luckiamute River Watershed, Upper Willamette Basin: an
integrated environmental study for K-12 educators", S.B. Taylor,
B.E.Dutton, and P.E. Poston, Oregon Department of Geology
and Mineral Industries, Special Paper 36: 2002, 167-186
"In Situ Adsorption Studies at Silica/Solution
Interfaces by Attenuated Total Internal Reflection Fourier
Transform Infrared Spectroscopy: Examination of Adsorption
Models in Normal-Phase Liquid Chromatography", Dion Rivera, Pete
E. Poston, Rory H. Uibel, and Joel M. Harris, Analytical
Chemistry,
2000, 72, 1543-1554
"In Situ Detection of Adsorbates at Silica/Solution
Interfaces by Fourier Transform Infrared Attenuated Total
Reflection Spectroscopy Using a Silica-Coated Internal
Reflection Element", Pete E. Poston, Dion Rivera, Rory H. Uibel,
and Joel M. Harris, Applied
Spectroscopy, 1998, 52, 1391-1398
Presentations and Posters
“Xray Fluorescence Analysis of Cartridge Cases from the Battle of the Little Big Horn”, Pete E. Poston, Invited Seminar, Oregon State University, 2017, Corvallis, OR
“Portable Xray Fluorescence Analysis (pXRF) of Cartridge Cases From the Battle of the Little Big Horn”, Society of Western Analytical Professors, 2017, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
“Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Rock Art Pigment from the Great Gallery, Maze District, Canyonlands National Park, Utah”, Pete E. Poston, Society of Western Analytical Professors, 2010, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
“Raman Spectrometric and Scanning Electron Microscopy – Energy
Dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) Analysis of Rock Art
Pigment From the Great Gallery, Maze District, Canyonlands
National Park, UT”, Pete E. Poston, 2011 Pecos Conference in
Archaeology, Aug 11-14, Jacob Lake, AZ
“Stable, Dispersible Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering
Substrate Capable of Detecting Molecules Bound to
Silica-Immobilized Ligands”, Society of Western Analytical
Professors, 2011, University of California , Riverside
“Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Rock Art Pigment from the
Great Gallery, Maze District, Canyonlands National Park, Utah”,
Pete E. Poston, Society of Western Analytical Professors, 2010,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT