Letter from Michael D. Johnson

January 23, 2003

Dear OLIS Corporation:

I am writing to express my immense satisfaction in the products you have provided to me over the past 23 years! As some of you may remember, I was working with Ralph Wilkins at NMSU in 1981 toward a Ph. D. in chemistry. At that time, he ordered what I believe was one of the first stopped-flow data acquisition units you produced. Dick came to install it and I was quite impressed with his knowledge of not only instrumentation, but the whole area of kinetics. About a year later, Ralph went ahead and purchased what I know was the fist (and perhaps only!) T-Jump data acquisition unit that OLIS produced. I distinctly remember telling Dick at that time that "when I become a faculty member, I want to buy an OLIS data acquisition unit." Well, 11 years later I did so! Even then I was impressed by the company's dedication to customer service, product development and the fact that the instrumentation, data acquisition and data processing was all developed by a kineticist! This aspect makes OLIS kinetic equipment imminently logical and useful to use and apply.

In my opinion, the technical support that OLIS provides is without question way beyond what would be expected by any company For example, when I returned to NMSU in 1991 as a faculty member, I was greeted by the Department Head with a box full of electronics, wires, cables, etc. and three disassembled, "old" OLIS data acquisition systems, actually, the same ones I used as a student in the early '80's! Needless to say, no one in their right mind would resurrect 10-12 year old computer systems, but I didn't have much start-up funds and the OLIS family worked valiantly to help me get all my systems going...and, much to my surprise, every last system still worked! The generation of a few papers using this equipment provided me with my first grant to buy a modern OLIS system. I haven't looked back since! I now own two SF collection systems, a laser flash unit and an RSM 1000...all from OLIS! Even now, when I have a question about how to use a particular feature or when the rare "down-time" occurs, I know that help is only a phone call away. It is reassuring for me to know that I am not "in it alone" when it comes to instrumental support of my kinetic work...I wish that could be said of the AA-GF that I also own!

OLIS is truly a leader in instrumentation for people who are interested in a variety of problems in kinetic and mechanism work. I routinely have visitors to my lab who specifically come to use the OLIS rapid scan system. It is a "workhorse" setup and an essential tool for deconvoluting "difficult" kinetic problems!

Now that OLIS has begun working with a Windows format, I believe that their potential for continued growth and expansion will increase. While I am a dedicated DOS user, I realize that the next generation is sold on Windows and this will remove any obstacle that people might have to using the OLIS products. I know that other companies have made the switch so this will only help OLIS maintain its competitive edge over these other manufacturers.

In conclusion, I just want to say how much your company has improved my ability to succeed as a scientist in the field of inorganic reaction mechanisms. I heartily support the efforts of the OLIS firm in its attempts to provide innovative, cutting edge instrumentation for a variety of laboratory uses along with their outstanding technical support. I would not be putting up for promotion to full professor this year without the OLIS team standing behind me and providing their varied expertise! I thank each member of the OLIS team for your dedication, knowledge and most importantly perhaps, patience with "us scientists" who use your equipment!

Most sincerely,

Michael D. Johnson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry