J. Preston Miles
John H. Walkup Professor of Chemistry - Emeritus
Education
BA: Chemistry, Centre College
PhD: Analytical chemistry, University of Kentucky
Expertise
Trace and Ultratrace Determinations in Environmental Matrices;
An analytical chemist who worked in research and development in private industry before joining the Centre faculty. Deeply committed to collaborative research bringing together students and faculty. Recent research with a Centre student investigating how temperature affects the solubility of a form of carbon molecule known as carbon 60 or C-60 (“fullerenes”). He has developed a number of successful grant proposals on behalf of the sciences at Centre.
BIOGRAPHY
Preston Miles is professor of chemistry at Centre College, where he has taught since 1981. He held the Walkup Professorship of Chemistry from 1997 until his retirement in 2019, and has served as chair of the natural science program.
Miles is an analytical chemist who worked in research and development in private industry before joining the Centre faculty. He is deeply committed to getting Centre students involved in collaborative research. His research has focused on the development and application of methods for trace level analyses. Current projects include the determination of toxic heavy metals in woody plant materials, the determination of cortisol in urine and feces from both captive and wild wooly monkey populations, and most recently, the determination of PPCP’s in surface waters.
The PPCP compounds (pharmaceutical and personal care products) represent a category of potential environmental concern. Recent discoveries (Science News, April 2000, "Environmental Science and Technology," February 2002) suggest that these compounds occur at levels and frequencies much higher than previously anticipated. Miles and his student collaborators are currently working on developing and validating sample preparation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry methods for some of these compounds.
Miles has developed a number of successful grant proposals on behalf of the sciences at Centre. He holds a B.A. from Centre and earned a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Kentucky.