This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Indiana State University is a RUI-eligible institution highly engaged in undergraduate research training. This award will provide funds to the renovation of research laboratory space in the Science Building at Indiana State University in support of their undergraduate and graduate research programs in biology, chemistry, and geology. The 50-year-old Science Building houses the University's programs in the natural sciences, including biology, chemistry, geology, physics, and science education. The project will renovate seven research labs that support graduate and/or undergraduate research in organic chemistry and pharmacology, geochemistry, dendrochronology, paleoceanography, molecular ecology, and evolutionary physiology. Several of the labs present safety concerns by contemporary standards due to poor laboratory layout, lack of sufficient and appropriate storage, inadequate air flow in antiquated fume hoods, and missing safety features, such as eyewashes and showers. Plans for renovating these laboratories include the following: (i) new ceilings, floors, recessed doorways, and repair of walls with some reconfiguration; (ii) new casework, bench tops, and shelving; (iii) installation of fixed laboratory equipment and fume hoods; (iv) installation of ADA-compliant bench space; (v) new electrical services and plumbing; (vi) improved temperature control and exhaust; and (vii) new safety features including eyewashes and showers. The two chemistry labs targeted for renovation include an organic chemistry research lab that will be reconfigured to provide additional organic chemistry research space and space for biochemistry. Geology lab renovations will create two rooms that separately support wood and rock processing activities. The four rooms of the Geochemistry Lab will be reconfigured as three rooms with a new doorway. Lastly one additional room on the first floor will be renovated to be the Paleoceanography Laboratory. There are the two labs targeted for renovation on the second floor: the Molecular Ecology Lab and the Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology Lab. These renovations will support a highly productive faculty and significant undergraduate research programs.
The biology, chemistry, and geology programs at Indiana State University (ISU) have a decades-old tradition of engaging undergraduate students in faculty-guided research projects. These experiences take place in the laboratories of ISU's Science Building, which was constructed 50 years ago. This National Science Foundation-funded project supported the renovation of seven research laboratories in the Science Building, totaling roughly 5000 sq ft. Most of the labs had never been significantly upgraded since they were built in the 1960s; they were uninviting spaces in which to engage students and in poor condition. Moreoever, several labs presented safety concerns by contemporary standards due to poor laboratory layout, lack of appropriate storage, inadequate air flow, and missing safety features. Renovation began in the fall of 2011 and was largely completed by the summer of 2012. The labs include (i) new ceilings, floors, and recessed doorways, (ii) new casework, bench tops, and shelving, (iii) new fixed equipment and fume hoods, (iv) ADA-compliant bench space, (v) new electrical services and plumbing, (vi) improved temperature control and exhaust, and (vii) new safety features, including eyewashes and showers. Research activities have resumed in the renovated spaces over the past year. Eight undergraduates have worked in the new Organic Chemistry Laboratories, progressing toward the synthesis of a compound that has been isolated in the skins of poison dart frogs. The purpose of this effort is to discover and make compounds that are useful as therapeutics for human disease. Nine undergraduates have worked with four graduate students in the Paleoceanography Laboratory examining single-celled organisms in ocean sediments. Their effort impacts many science disciplines, including the search for extraterrestial life and the characterization of biological processes in deep-sea environments. Nine undergraduates have worked with five graduate students and a postdoctoral associate in the Molecular Ecology Laboratory to determine the sexual behavior of the white-throated sparrow. The white-throated sparrow serves as a new animal model in which one can potentially pinpoint the determinants of sexual behavior. In addition to these research activities, the new laboratories have been used for teaching purposes. Several hundred environmental studies students have had their soil and water samples from a nearby wetlands area analyzed for heavy metal content in the Geochemistry Laboratory. Twenty high school students in our Summer Honors Program and fifty students in our genetics course have learned about genome sequencing using equipment installed in the renovated lab that serves as our Center for Genomic Advocacy. The renovated lab space has already had a significant impact on student experiences in science at Indiana State University. We are confident that the labs will serve the next generation of ISU students well, and we appreciate the support of the National Science Foundation.
