Challenges of Creating an Excitation-Emission Matrix

Skye M. Kessler, Sontee M. Irvin

At Lander University, numerous heavy-metal water analysis research projects sampled water obtained from Lake Greenwood, but there has been no focus on dissolved organic material (DOM). Fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) provide fingerprint analysis of DOMs in aquatic environments. This analytical technique is new to our department and we face several challenges to make this technique work, such as: spectra collection, data display, data pre-processing, and sophisticated data analyses. Because data analysis techniques like Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) are computationally intensive, we have been using Jupyter Notebooks in the Google Colaboratory environment with assistance from AI technology. We are reporting our progress in overcoming these hurdles to bring Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Matrix Spectroscopy to our department. This research is the first step in this future analysis.

• Skye Kessler graduated from Wren High School and is a current student at Lander University. Her achievements include working as a peer leader on campus, giving a poster presentation at the South Carolina Upstate Symposium, and maintaining a good standing in academic endeavors. She is a senior chemistry major with a concentration in forensic science.

• Sontee Irvin is a graduating senior chemistry major from Abbeville, SC. During her time as an undergraduate she has participated in an undergraduate chemistry research program at Georgia Tech and received a NASA research grant from the South Carolina Space Consortium. In the fall, she will begin the Duke University Chemistry PhD program.