Classes

|Ch 161|Ch 221-223|Ch 310|Ch 312|Ch 313|
|Ch 354|Ch 420|Ch 461|Ch 471|Ch 473|

Who am I?

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

Professional Experience

Research

[Publications][Presentations and Posters]

Overview

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.

Publications

1. “UV Fluorescence-Enhancement from Nanostructured Aluminum Materials”, Danielle E. Montanari ; Nathan Dean ; Pete E. Poston ; Steve Blair and Joel M. Harris, Proceedings. SPIE 9926, UV and Higher Energy Photonics: From Materials to Applications, 99260X -1, (2016).
   
   
2. “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.
   
   
3. “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
   
   
4. “Final Report: Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Rock Art Pigment from the Great Gallery, Maze District, Canyonlands National Park, Utah”, and the Supplementary Materials (Tables), Dr. Pete E. Poston, 2009
   
   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.
   
   
5. "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
   
   
6. "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
   
   
7. "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

1. “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
   
   
2. “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.
   
   
3. “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
   
   
4. “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
   
   
5. “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
   
   
6. “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

Links and Apps

Western Oregon University Links

1. Western Oregon University
2. Portal
3. Banner Faculty Menu
4. Library
5. Online Class Schedule
6. Academic Calendar
7. Final Exam schedule

Chemistry Department

1. Chemistry Department Homepage

Educational Links

1. American Chemical Society Educational Webpage
2. Education in Chemistry - Royal Society of Chemistry
3. Chemical Education Exchange
4. Mahjong Chem - Stetson University
5. Khan Academy Chemistry
6. Chemical Education Digital Library

Apps - IOS only

1. ODYSSEY VSEPR Theory
2. ODYSSEY Atomic Orbitals
3. Royal Society of Chemists -
   
4. Periodic Table
5. Periodic Table website and IOS App
6. Chemistry World
7. Education in Chemistry
   
8. American Chemical Society -
9. inChemistry - news, careers, resources
10. NOVA Elements
11. iMolview - molecules in 3D
12. Molecules - another 3D viewer
13. Building Atoms, Ions, and Isotopes HD Lite
14. AP Chemistry Practice & Prep
15. Spectrum Analyzer

World-Wide-Web Online Courses

1. Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC)
2. MIT MOOC courses

Databases

1. NIST Webbook - Extensive database of compound info such as MS and FTIR spectra, etc

Periodic Table

1. Webelements.com

Chemical Organizations

1. American Chemical Society
2. Society for Applied Spectroscopy
3. Association of Official Analytical Chemists

Journals

1. American Chemical Society Journal List
2. Journal of Chemical Education
3. Analytical Chemistry

Government Agencies

1. National Science Foundation
2. Environmental Protection Agency