College of Science Grants LI-COR Biosciences provided a matching grant to fund acquisition of a LI-COR 4300 DNA Sequencer that is a central part of our genomics core facility and is fully accessible to undergraduate student researchers. Dr. Pete Nelson received a three-year $149196 grant from the NSF to develop and disseminate teaching modules to the wider biology and biophysics communities. The modules are based on materials developed at BU during the last seven years for Dr. Nelson’s biophysics classes. Biol/Chem/Phys 323 - "Biophysics" is a course required for all: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) majors; and Physics majors who select the Biological Physics Concentration. Biol 310 - "Biophysics and Physiological Modeling" is a 300-level elective course for Health Science (pre med) and Biology majors. The modules will introduce a wide audience (including students without calculus) to both fundamental and advanced topics in biophysics and quantitative physiology. For more information visit the project web page. Dr. Tim Marin's summary of current grants: Research Corporation - Cottrell College Science Award, 2 years (7/15/08-7/14/10), $32,318 National Science Foundation - Research in Undergraduate Institutions, 2 years (9/01/09-8/31/11), $71,598 (additional funding received through the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, through collaboration with the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory,) Ultraviolet Absorption of the Lowest-Lying Electronic State in High-Temperature and Supercritical Water The lowest-lying electronic state of light and heavy water is being studied via deep ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy up to and beyond the critical temperature, at which point water becomes a compressible fluid and is thought to exhibit local clustering of water molecules. In this temperature region, absorption spectra are being obtained as a function of density, providing information on how the lowest electronic transition in water is related to the local solvent environment due to changes in the degree of water clustering. These measurements will demonstrate how the transition between liquid and supercritical behavior manifests in the absorption spectrum. Data will be complemented by computational studies of the water electronic structure. Results will lay the groundwork for future studies of aqueous ion spectroscopy. The impacts of this project reach beyond fundamental science. Application lie in the design of new, efficient Generation IV supercritical water nuclear reactors and in supercritical water oxidation facilities for noxious waste mitigation. The experiments are conducted at the Synchrotron Radiation Center associated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Opportunities to get involved in this investigative research will help students sample the type of environment encountered in graduate school and provide an opportunity to make use of a premier federal research facility. CCLI Grant #0633232 enables a project team of mathematicians and biologists at Benedictine University and College of DuPage headed by Dr. Timothy D. Comar to create learning materials and teaching strategies and to promote dialog between faculty and students and in the mathematical and biological sciences. All of the efforts of this project are designed to attract and prepare students who intend to major in biological and health sciences to pursue research in these increasingly quantitative, computational, and data-driven areas. There are three primary goals for this project, the first of which is the creation of a new biocalculus textbook and computer laboratory manual originating from biocalculus courses and associated computer laboratories at BU and COD. Another goal of this project is the creation of a mathematics and biology seminar jointly administered by faculty at BU and COD. This seminar is directed toward undergraduate students in the mathematical and biological students. Its goals are to make students aware of the connections between the mathematical and biological sciences, particularly in current and future research, to expose students to potential avenues for future research, and to foster interdisciplinary dialog between mathematics and biology faculty and students at both institutions. The third goal of this project is the assessment of the effectiveness of our biocalculus courses, materials, and seminar. . Fr. Theodore Suchy of Benedictine University received a grant from the DuPage Community Foundation Trustee Janet A. Hodge to provide funding for the Jurica Nature Museum's desert diarama. Read the press release article Visit the The DuPage Community Foundation