What students are saying about Prof. Callahan… 

“Callahan was exceptional at responding to students' needs, especially during the course of the epidemic. He was my only teacher who, even before the shutdown happened, sat us down and made it explicitly clear what the plan of action was going to be if COVID-19 played out the way it did.” (CHEM 412 student, Spring 2020)

“As mentioned previously Mike does an excellent job, in this course in particular, of fostering learning through developing practical and useful skills. Particularly, the connection between the theoretical workings of an instrument and the practical use and methodology development with said instrument was masterfully executed in my opinion.” (CHEM 412 student, Spring 2020)

“Dr. Callahan is a great teacher. Coming into this course I was not interested in instrumentation and I expected this class to be very boring, especially having it early in the morning. But Dr. Callahan made the material very interesting and made it clear why it was important to know how the different instruments work, and that really stimulated my interest in the course. This class ended up being my favorite class this semester and Dr. Callahan is one of my favorite professors. I also really appreciated how flexible Dr. Callahan was this semester. Having the exams be take-home and getting extra time to complete them really decreased my stress level this semester. I also appreciated that he was consistent with ending the class 5 minutes early, because most of my other teachers did not follow that rule and it made it difficult to get to my next class on time.”  (CHEM 411 student, Fall 2020)

“Mike is a unique teacher where I felt directly a part of the learning rather than an observer. Good luck falling asleep in class. It provoked my participation and helped me learn better. Excellent.” (CHEM 411 student, Fall 2020)

“Hi Mike, I thought you might be interested to know that I got the job as an analytical chemistry research assistant…you might be interested to know that the chemists I interviewed with for the position seemed very interested in [CHEM 411 & 412] and thought the hands-on portion of working with the instrument was a great thing for students. Just like you said, they were happy to know that I could explain the workings of the instrument, so it was very valuable to have that knowledge and experience from this class. Thanks for being a great professor and being willing to serve as a reference.”  (Email from student, June 2020)

“Hi Mike, In regards to the interview…I explained to him the various things that we have done in [CHEM 411 & 412]… He was impressed with the lab experience that I have, and specifically compared me to applicants coming from places like University of Washington and how I have more hands-on experience than most of them. He even told me that he picked me over someone with previous lab tech experience on the basis that my potential as a chemist was greater than theirs as an environmental scientist.”  (Email from student, August 2020)

CHEM 597  Special Topics: Mass Spectrometry

Instructor: Mike Callahan, michaelcallahan914@boisestate.edu 

Pre-requisites: CHEM 411/511 or concurrent enrollment.  Or by permission of instructor.

Did you know that there is a mass spectrometer operating on the Curiosity Rover on Mars right now?  Or that drug testing in sports is accomplished using a mass spectrometer.  And maybe that Tricorder in Star Trek will someday become a reality because of mass spectrometry.

Mass spectrometers are one of the most useful instruments in chemistry.  And the field of mass spectrometry is gigantic.  This class will be geared towards building a strong understanding of mass spectrometry concepts, components, and numerous applications of mass spectrometry and will include student participation and (hopefully) hands-on experiences.    

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Courses Taught at Boise State University

CHEM 412 Analytical Chemistry Laboratory II (Spring 2016, Spring, 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023)

CHEM 411/511 Analytical Chemistry II and Advanced Analytical Chemistry (Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023)

CHEM 522 Spectroscopy (Spring 2023)

CHEM 597 Special Topics in Mass Spectrometry (Fall 2016, Fall 2017)

CHEM 286/386/498/598 Directed Reading in Chemistry/Seminar (Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2021)