Background
The Virtual Instrumentation Access at CSU Channel Islands (VIA-CI) Project provides educational partners with the ability to remotely operate a 500 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, a single quadrupole gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GCMS), and a gas chromatograph (GC). This project was initiated with funding from Amgen Foundation and, more recently, through funding from a National Science Foundation grant proposal (Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement, NSF CCLI 0737081). The NSF grant funding was used to expand the project to additional educational partners (College of the Desert, College of the Canyons, and Santa Barbara City College) as well as to assess the impact of remote instrumentation on student learning.
VIA-CI Goal
To enhance the technological preparation of science students by providing regional community colleges and universities (Educational Partners) with virtual access to state-of-the-art instrumentation through the Internet to include:
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometry
- Gas Chromatography
- Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry
- X-ray Diffraction
VIA-CI Concept
The high cost of modern instrumentation makes it extremely difficult for mainly teaching institutions to afford state-of-the-art technology. Instead of having individual campuses competing for funding for multiple instruments, the VIA-CI concept sites that instrumentation at a single campus and makes the instrumentation remotely accessible, at no charge, to Educational Partners on the grant.
VIA-CI Educational Partners
The Educational Partners on the VIA-CI project are spread over Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties and include private colleges/ universities, community colleges.
Educational partners include:
- California Lutheran University
- College of the Canyons
- College of the Desert
- Moorpark College
- Oxnard College
- Pierce College
- Santa Barbara City College
- Ventura College
Interested in Joining VIA-CI?
Campuses interested in joining the Educational Partner consortium should contact :
Professor Phil Hampton
VIA-CI Project Director
Professor of Chemistry
CSU Channel Islands
One University Drive
Camarillo, CA 93012
Phone: 805-437-8869
Philip.Hampton@csuci.edu