Instrumentation for Undergraduate Biology and Biotechnology Training

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The project is designed to increase the learning, retention, and lab skills of students in biology and biotechnology programs. This is being achieved through major revisions and changes in the lab experiences of students who enroll in biology labs and completion of the biotechnology specialization program, permitting many hands-on explorations into molecular biology in the laboratory. This project involves a 2-year college, a 4-year university, and a biotech industry, through a consortium effort to identify and teach appropriate lab exercises that give students hands-on experience with the problem-solving methods used in biotechnology. These exercises are initially being integrated into the biotechnology lab course and the biology majors lab course. The biotechnology lab is part of a tech prep program linked to local high schools and to a transfer program. In addition, the equipment can be integrated into a training course for high school science teachers. The individuals primarily affected are biology majors and those preparing for careers in biotechnology, research, medicine, and teaching. The new equipment is fundamental to the training of the 35,000 to 100,000 biotechnicians and scientists who will be needed in the next decade. This instrumentation funding provides students with a comprehensive biotechnology lab program; improved instrumentation in majors and nonmajors biology lab courses; increased hands-on learning in a collaborative-learning atmosphere; state-of-the-art training (for teachers) in biotechnology lab skills; and expanded independent student research opportunities.