Courses
- Environmental Chemistry
- Atoms & Molecules
- Equilibrium & Reactivity
- Instrumental Chemistry/Analytical Methods
- Applications of Analytical Chemistry
- Environmental Forensics
Research Interests
Research in the Hupp Lab advances analytical measurement approaches for renewable energy and environmental monitoring. We characterize biodiesel fuels using Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and UltraFast GC (UFGC) to profile fatty acid methyl esters across diverse feedstocks. By integrating chemometric techniques such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares (PLS), we distinguish feedstock types and quantify blend concentrations with precision. Our work has expanded into environmental analytical chemistry, where students investigate biodiesel degradation and sunscreen-derived UV filters in water and soil using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). More recently, we have begun extracting and analyzing fragrance and olfactory compounds from liquid and solid samples with GC-MS and GC-O, opening new directions in sensory chemistry.
Publications
Amber M. Hupp, “Determination of Rose Alcohol Composition in Extracts and Flowers via Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction and GC-MS” ACS Measurement Science Au. Invited publication. Special Issue: Rising Stars. 5 (2025) 932-941.
Amber M. Hupp, Michelle L. Kovarik, Daniel A. McCurry “Emerging Areas in Undergraduate Analytical Chemistry Education: Microfluidics, Microcontrollers, and Chemometrics” Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry. Invited publication. Accepted Vol 17. Publication May 2024. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anchem-061622-041922
Amber M. Hupp “Incorporating Chemometric Methods into the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Problem Set Activity for an Upper Level Elective” Journal of Chemical Education. 100 (2023) 1377-1381
Karina Ramos, Alicia Riddell, Helen Tsiagras, Amber M. Hupp, “Evaluation of Biodiesel/Diesel Blends: Does Ultrafast Chromatography provide for similar resolution in less time?” Journal of Chromatography A. 1667 (2022) 462903.
Edward J. Soares, Alexandra J. Clifford, Carolyn D. Brown, Ryan R. Dean, Amber M. Hupp, "Balancing Resolution with Analysis Time for Biodiesel-Diesel Fuel Separations Using GC, PCA, and the Mahalanobis Distance" Separations. 6, 28 (2019) 1-13.
Amber M. Hupp, Joseph Perron, Ned Roques, John Crandall, Scott Ramos, Brian Rohrback, “Analysis of Biodiesel-Diesel Blends Using Ultrafast Gas Chromatography (UFGC) and Chemometric Methods: Extending ASTM D7798 to biodiesel” Fuel. 231 (2018) 264-270.
Mariel E. Flood, Mary P. Connolly, Michael C. Comiskey, Amber M. Hupp, “Evaluation of single and multi-feedstock biodiesel-diesel blends using GCMS and chemometric methods” Fuel. 186 (2016) 58-67.
Edward J. Soares, Gopal R. Yalla, John B. O'Connor, Kevin A. Walsh, Amber M. Hupp, "Hotelling Trace Criterion as a Figure of Merit for the Optimization of Chromatogram Alignment" Journal of Chemometrics. 29 (2015) 200-212.
Mariel E. Flood, Julian C. Goding, Jack B. O’Connor, Dorisanne Y. Ragon, Amber M. Hupp, “Analysis of Biodiesel Feedstock Using GCMS and Unsupervised Chemometric Methods” Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society. 91 (2014) 1443-1452.
Julian C. Goding, Dorisanne Y. Ragon, Jack B. O’Connor, Sarah J. Boehm, Amber M. Hupp, “Comparison of GC Stationary Phases for the Separation of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters in Biodiesel Fuels” Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 405 (2013) 6087-6094.
Stephanie A. Brouet, Amber M. Hupp “Promoting Student Interest in Chemical Concepts by Implementing Creative Learning Activities in a Chemistry in Society Course for NonScience Majors” Journal of Chemical Education. 90 (2013) 1349-1352.
Brian P. Blum, Amber M. Hupp, “Characterization of a Zwitterionic C18 Stationary Phase Used in Liquid Chromatography” The Nucleus LXXXIX, No 7 (March 2011) 8-13.
Amber M. Hupp, Victoria L. McGuffin, “Thermodynamic and Kinetic Characterization of Bridged-Ethylene Hybrid Stationary Phase” Journal of Chromatography A. 1217 (2010) 6241-6249.
Amber M. Hupp, Victoria L. McGuffin, “Comparison of Theoretical Methods for Extracting Retention Factors and Rate Constants in Liquid Chromatography” Journal of Liquid Chromatography and Related Technologies. 33(15) (2010) 1427-1458.
Amber M. Hupp, Lucas J. Marshall, Dahlia I. Campbell, Ruth Waddell Smith, Victoria L. McGuffin, “Chemometric Analysis of Diesel Fuel for Forensic and Environmental Applications” Analytica Chimica Acta. 606 (2008) 159-171.
Xiaoping Li, Amber M. Hupp, Victoria L. McGuffin. “The Thermodynamic and Kinetic Basis of Liquid Chromatography”, In Eli Grushka & Nelu Grinberg (Eds.), Advances in Chromatography. Vol. 45 (2006) Ch 1: 1-88, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.