SHERMAN FAIRCHILD FOUNDATION SUPPORT TO BENEFIT UNDERGRADUATE SCIENCE RESEARCH THROUGH NEW EQUIPMENT
 New York, NY- Barnard College has received a $500,000 grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation to support state-of-the-art instrumentation and laboratory equipment for undergraduate research in neuroscience, cell biology, neurobiology, chemistry, and environmental science.
"This substantial grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation will be instrumental in supporting Barnard students and faculty in developing and expanding the use of new scientific equipment for the the study of neuroscience and behavior and research in neurosciences," said Elizabeth S. Boylan, Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Barnard. "This support will greatly improve our science research facilities and affect the important science-related work of more than 150 students across five different departments and programs. The experiences of students in using these new instruments will be fundamental in helping them to choose careers in neuroscience and related areas and may, indeed, lead to future breakthroughs in the field."
The grant will primarily assist in the acquisition of sophisticated fluorescence microscopy instrument packages to enhance research in neuroscience, cell biology, neurobiology, and environmental science. It will allow for the purchase of Biopac neurophysiology workstations and a microelectrode puller that will facilitate student collection and analysis of data by students, as well as a state-of-the-art high pressure liquid chromatograph (HPLC) that will enable students to measure components of a complex mixture.
The instruments will be used at two levels: first to introduce science majors in neuroscience and behavior, biology, chemistry, environmental science, and psychology to these important, modern laboratory instruments, and then as tools for guided laboratory experiences. Second, the grant will allow the College to hire a full-time technician to train students and help them with the use of the equipment for their projects. Two interdisciplinary labs will be created - one for fluorescence microscopy and one for the HPLC, both supported by the new technician.
The project and the implementation of the new equipment into Barnard's neuroscience and behavior program will be led by Professor John Glendinning, who has had a central role in the development and implementation of the program. Other participating faculty will meet with Glendinning to assure the timely acquisition and implementation of the equipment and the appointment of a technician.
"All the equipment that we can purchase with the help of this grant will enable our students to use cutting-edge technology for measuring and describing biological phenomena with a precision and accuracy comparable to the professional science level," said Professor Glendinning.
To prepare women for careers in science, Barnard insists that its undergraduates are involved in research. The new equipment and technical staffing will affect approximately 150 students a year, about 80 percent of whom are enrolled in laboratory courses.
The Barnard science faculty includes 39 tenured or tenure-track faculty of whom 54 percent are women. The overall science faculty has increased two percent in five years with the number of women rising eight percent.
The science division comprises six departments (biological sciences, chemistry, environmental science, mathematics, physics ans astronomy and pschology) and five interdisciplinary major programs (biochemistry, economics and mathematics, environmental biology, environmental policy, and neuroscience and behavior). The curriculum emphasizes undergraduate research in each department and guided laboratory research under a faculty mentor, available both on- and off-campus. The faculty mentoring is made possible with support from Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and gifts from individuals. In recent years, an average of 27 percent of Barnard's graduates are science majors.
For more information, please contact Petra Tuomi in the Barnard Office of Public Affairs, 212-854-7907, ptuomi@barnard.edu |
