Renovation of Coe College's Peterson Hall of Science

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)资助的。该项目涉及爱荷华州锡达拉皮兹的一所小型私立本科大学科学院的彼得森大厅的翻新。这座建于1968年的建筑容纳了学院所有的科学实验室。现有结构的问题包括：三楼的一面墙破裂和分离；窗户石膏和窗框被侵蚀；窗户不再打开；频繁的管道泄漏；电力容量太低，不适合现代研究设备和环境系统；压缩空气、蒸汽和燃气系统在许多房间无法工作；空气处理器无法实现气候控制；进行痕量分析的房间没有空气流动隔离；建筑原有的热水系统已经超出了使用寿命；以及缺乏适当的存储和通风条件的仓库。翻修基本上是对彼得森大厅内部的彻底翻新。它将包括：更换天花板、地板、照明、一些管网、窗户、内墙覆盖物、门框和一些内墙；翻新电气、管道、供暖、制冷、空气处理、引擎盖通风和温度控制系统；重新配置实验室工作台和办公空间；以及网络布线。美国国家科学基金会承担了大楼翻修总费用的一部分，以支付与研究和研究培训相关的翻修部分。以下是在彼得森大厅进行研究并将通过翻修得到加强的领域的例子：氧化物玻璃的物理及其结构-性能关系，包括研究硼酸盐玻璃中的超结构基团，用于放射性废物合并的复杂三组分和四组分硼硅酸盐玻璃的结构，以及各种新碱和碱土钒酸盐玻璃的结构；重金属氧化物玻璃的光学性质和铅、钡和其他重金属钒酸盐玻璃的激光诱导重结晶；音乐声学研究；植物和动物生态学；能够利用铁和硫化合物作为电子受体在无氧条件下生长的物种的微生物生态学；小鼠小胶质细胞在促炎和抗炎细胞因子与性腺类固醇联合应用后发生的分子变化；蜥蜴的基因表达模式；海虫生物水泥的研究；农用化学品在自然环境中的去向；玻璃材料的电子结构和玻璃表面的腐蚀；该奖项将帮助这所文理学院保持一个充满活力的本科生研究项目，为本科生提供有意义的研究经验的范例。除了为研究和研究培训提供基础设施外，翻修工程还将提供资源，用于涉及高中生、高中教师、本科生和客座教师的暑期研究项目。它将支持与日本、加拿大、意大利和英国的教师研究人员及其学生的合作。它将促进针对小学生、初中生、高中生和普通公众的科学和数学方面的公共推广活动。它将为来自COE以外的本科生提供更好的资源，他们来到COE参加其本科生研究体验计划。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009(Public Law 111-5).This project involves the renovation of Peterson Hall at Coe College, a small, private, undergraduate university in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Built in 1968, this building houses all of the science laboratories at the College. Problems with the existing structure include: cracking and separation of a wall on the third floor; erosion of window plaster and casings; windows that no longer open; frequent plumbing leaks; electrical capacity that is too low for modern research equipment and environmental systems; compressed air, steam and gas systems that do not work in many rooms; failure of air handlers to achieve climate control; lack of airflow isolation in rooms where trace-level analysis is performed; a hot water system, original to the building, that has exceeded its useful life; and stockrooms that lack proper storage and ventilation conditions.The renovation is essentially a gut renovation of the interior of Peterson Hall. It will include: replacement of ceilings, flooring, lighting, some ductwork, windows, interior wall covering, door frames and some interior walls; refurbishment of electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, air-handling, hood ventilation and temperature control systems; reconfiguration of lab benches & spaces; and network wiring. NSF is contributing part of the overall cost of renovating the building to cover the portion of the renovation that is associated with research and research training.The following are examples of areas in which research is conducted in Peterson Hall and which would be strengthened by the renovation: the physics of oxide glasses and their structure-property relationships, including the study of superstructural groups in borate glasses, the structure of complex three and four component borosilicate glasses for radioactive waste incorporation, and the structure of a variety of new alkali and alkaline-earth vanadate glasses; the optical properties of heavy metal oxide glasses and laser induced recrystallization of lead, barium and other heavy metal vanadate glasses; research in musical acoustics; plant and animal ecology; microbial ecology of species that have the ability to use ferric iron and sulfur compounds as electron acceptors for growth in the absence of oxygen; the molecular alterations in murine microglia that occur following stimulation with pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in conjunction with the application of gonadal steroids; patterns of gene expression in the salamander, Ambystoma mexicanum; the study of sea-worm biocements; the fate of agricultural chemicals in the natural environment; the electronic structure of glassy materials and the corrosion of glass surfaces; and the synthesis, structure, and reactivity of hypercoordinate group 14 compounds.The award will help this liberal arts college to maintain a vibrant program of undergraduate research that provides an example of the way in which undergraduates can be given meaningful research experiences. In addition to providing infrastructure for research and research training, the renovation will provide a resource that will be used for summer research programs involving high school students, high school teachers, undergraduates and visiting faculty. It will support collaboration with faculty researchers in Japan, Canada, Italy, and England, and their students. It will facilitate public outreach events in science and mathematics aimed at elementary, middle, and high school students and the general public. It will provide much better resources for undergraduates form outside Coe who come to Coe for its Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.