Within this educational endeavor instrumental development was explored through the investigation of microwave induce stable electromagnetic waves within a non-linear yttrium iron garnet ferromagnetic waveguide. The resulting magnetostatic surface waves were investigated as a possible method of rapid analytical evaluation of material composition. Initial analytical results indicate that the interaction seen between wave and material electric and magnetic fields will allow phase coherence recovery andanalysis leading to enhancement of analytical value. The ferromagnetic waveguide selected for this research was a high quality monocrystalline YIG (yttrium iron garnet) film. Magnetostatic spin waves (MSW) were produced within the YIG thin waveguide. Spin waves with desired character were used to analytically scan materials within the liquid and solid phase.

The field of direct inject mass spectrometry includes a massive host of ambient ionization techniques that are especially useful for forensic analysts. Whether the sample is trace amounts of drugs or explosives or bulk amounts of synthetic drugs from a clandestine laboratory, the analysis of forensic evidence requires minimal sample preparation, evidence preservation, and high sensitivity. Direct inject mass spectrometry techniques can rarely provide all of these. Direct analyte-probed nanoextraction coupled to nanospray ionization mass spectrometry, however, is certainly capable of achieving these goals. As a multifaceted tool developed in the Verbeck laboratory, many forensic applications have since been investigated (trace drug and explosives analysis). Direct inject mass spectrometry can also be easily coupled to assays to obtain additional information about the analytes in question. By performing a parallel artificial membrane assay or a cell membrane stationary phase extraction prior to direct infusion of the sample, membrane permeability data and receptor activity data can be obtained in addition to the mass spectral data that was already being collected. This is particularly useful for characterizing illicit drugs and their analogues for a biologically relevant way to schedule new psychoactive substances.