Michael R. Webb

Michael R. Webb is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He earned his Ph.D. at Indiana University and his B.S. at Union College. Before coming to UNCW, he performed research at the New York State Department of Health's Wadsworth Center (Katherine T. Alben's lab), Union College (Mary K. Carroll's lab), Indiana University (Gary M. Hieftje's lab), and Tufts University (David R. Walt's lab). Dr. Webb's research interests primarily involve developing new instruments for spectroscopy and spectral imaging. He teaches courses in general and analytical chemistry.

Education

PhD in Analytical Chemistry, University of Indiana
BS in Chemistry, Union College

Specialization in Teaching

Dr. Webb teaches courses in general and analytical chemistry, currently including General Chemistry I, General Chemistry II, and Instrumental Analysis.

Research Interests

Dr. Webb's research has spanned a wide range of analytical techniques and applications, including liquid chromatography method development for the detection of disinfectant biproducts, fluorescence anisotropy and dynamic light scattering for probing dye-surfactant interactions, adapting glow discharge for surface imaging, development of a mass spectrometry source for ambient desorption-ionization, creation of laser trapping arrays as a platform for selective bio-analytical probes, detection of infrared atomic emission at a distance as a means of communication, and use of Arduino platforms for inexpensive spectroscopy instrumentation.
The Webb Lab's current projects focus on two instruments Dr. Webb co-invented and patented. The first is a solution-cathode glow discharge, which is a small atomic spectroscopy source that is inexpensive to construct and operate but has figures of merit similar to more expensive instrumentation. The second is an instrument for spectral imaging which can be used for microscopy or to image larger objects.