Lori Allen
Associate Professor and Department Chair
Chemistry Department
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1994
- PHONE:
- (262) 595-3420
- EMAIL:
- allen@uwp.edu
Originally from Southern Illinois (go Salukis!), I am a first generation college student. My passion for chemistry developed in high school where chemistry gave purpose to math and explained how things work! An undergraduate research project (Donnan dialysis) became a Master’s thesis, and paved the way for me to explore the role of aerosols in analytical instrumentation for my Ph. D. My Ph. D. experience opened the doors for a my postdoc at the National Center for Toxicological Research which allowed me to reconsider “chemistry” with “instrumentation”. From postdoc to UW-Parkside where I am privileged to allow students to explore and uncover how instruments work and the “hidden” chemistry that occurs within the instrument and on the bench. In closing, Southern Illinois also means go Cardinals!
Areas of Expertise
- Analytical Chemistry
- Atomic Spectroscopy
- Gas and Liquid Chromatography
Teaching Interests
I enjoy teaching beginning chemistry, but in many ways, my real passion is analytical chemistry. For beginning chemistry, I enjoy the conversations that occur when students challenge me to explain concepts in different ways because it pushes me to think and rethink how I present information. Analytical chemistry is supreme because it is the discipline that ensures that the numbers are good. Analytical chemistry and instrumentation is a blend of math, chemistry, and physics.
Research Interests
One area of research involves method development and validation for cannabinoids in plants, extracts, concentrates, foods, and consumer care products. A second area involves methods that speciate elements in natural samples. An example of this is the determination of chromium (III) and chromium (VI) in water and beverages.
Consulting Interests
As part of my involvement with the SCJ Integrated Science Laboratory, I consult with various faculty and area companies on short term projects. This work is mostly carried out by undergraduates who I supervise. Prior to this, I consulted (pro bono) with an NGO in Cambodia on drinking water testing.
- (2025) Contrasting Perfluoroctanoic Acid Removal by Calcite Before and After Heat Treatment. Environments, 15 pp. PDF
- (2024) Comparison and Contrast of Calcite vs. Dolomite after Heat Treatment to Enhance Toluidine Blue Removal from Water. Crystals, 13 pp. PDF
- (2024) Heat Treatment of Calcite to Enhance Its Removal of Color Dye Alizarin Red S. Crystals, 14 pp. PDF
- (2022) Sorption of acridine orange on non-swelling and swelling clay minerals. Crystals, 118 pp.
- (2001) Extraction and Analysis of Lead in Sweeteners by Flow-Injection Donnan Dialysis with Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 4615-4618 pp.
- (1998) Determination of copper, lead, and nickel in edible oils by plasma and furnace atomic spectroscopies. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 477-481 pp.
- (1997) Methods for the Determination of Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, and Tin in Sucrose, Corn Syrups, and High-Fructose Corn Syrups by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 162-165 pp.
- (1995) Condensation Nucleation Light Scattering Detection for Conventional Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography. Analytical Chemistry, 659-666 pp.
- (1993) Condensation nucleation light scattering: a new approach to development of high-sensitivity, universal detectors for separations. Analytical Chemistry, 841-844 pp.
CHEM 306 - Chemical Instrumentation
CHEM 400 - Instrumental Analysis Lab
CHEM 494 - Internship in Chemistry
CHEM 499 - Independent Study: