The sciences are separated into many categories and often have specific fields that are dedicated to understanding all aspects of life.

In the iFocus lecture on Thursday in Graf Hall, Professor John Dolan gave his lecture, “Who Done It?  How chemical separations can solve perplexing problems,” on the concept of chemical separations and their benefits.

Dolan has a Ph.D. in Chromatography, which is the study of the separation of a mixture by passing it in solution, suspension, or as a vapor. It also shows the separation of the components and how they move in different rates.

He began with the explanation of how chemical separations are created. He showed some examples of how different chemicals can be separated by different components. One example is aluminum and iron fillings which can be separated by a magnet.

Dolan discussded M.S. Tswett, who was a Russian botanist who discovered the whole concept of chromatography. Chromato means color and graphy means writing.

He than showed diagrams on how the chemicals are separated with an additional element and how they look afterward.

Later in the lecture, he talked about the different fields of study that Chromatography can be applied in.

One of these was forensics, being able to collect residues and suspect samples.

Other places that Chromatography can be used is pharmaceutical research, environmental research, chemical manufacturing, beer and wine making, and many other fields.