Renovation of Scientific Research Laboratory Facilities at Duquesne University

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。该项目将翻新和升级杜肯大学理查德·金·梅隆科学馆的特定现有研究实验室和设施。装修将包括：管道升级；更换磨损的工作台台面和案板；更换过时和低效的通风柜；升级/更换不足的现有暖通空调；最重要的是安全升级。拟议的翻修将使6名研究人员的个别研究实验室以及共用设施的研究环境更加有效和安全。在国家科学基金会、国家卫生研究院和能源部的资助下，这些研究小组正在研究一系列重要的化学和生物问题，包括：金属化腈的生成，金属离子在生物过程中的作用的研究，生物样品中脂质种类的定量测定，与环境和国土安全相关的计量问题，对转化金属和类金属的细菌的生理和生物化学的理解，以及非人灵长类动物基因的分子进化研究。每个研究实验室包括在拟议的改造有本科生研究人员作为研究小组的一部分。一个充满活力的夏季研究项目通常会在每年夏天将40-45名本科生研究人员带到杜肯大学进行为期10周的密集研究。美国国家科学基金会资助的本科生研究经验项目已进入第六年，该项目为本科生提供了一个整合计算和实验方法来研究问题的夏季研究经验。大学资助本科生，鼓励他们在国家会议上展示研究成果。在过去的5年里，一个活跃的Project SEED暑期项目已经将19名经济困难的高中生（其中一半以上是非裔美国人）带到杜肯校区，以丰富暑期研究经验。预计REU项目的学生和SEED项目的学生都将从改造后的实验室中受益匪浅。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This project will renovate and upgrade specific existing research laboratories and facilities in the Richard King Mellon Hall of Science at Duquesne University. The renovation will include: plumbing upgrades; replacement of worn bench tops and casework; replacement of outdated and inefficient hoods; upgrade/replacement of inadequate existing HVAC; and most importantly safety upgrades.The proposed renovations will result in more efficient and safer research environments in the individual research laboratories of six investigators as well as in a shared facility. These research groups, with funding through the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy, are studying a diverse array of significant chemical and biological problems, including: the generation of metallated nitriles, a study of the role of metal ions in biological processes, the quantitative determination of lipid species in biological samples, metrology problems related to environmental and homeland security, developing an understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of bacteria that transform metal and metalloids, and the study of molecular evolution in nonhuman primate genes. Every research lab included in the proposed renovation has undergraduate researchers as part of the research group. A dynamic summer research program typically brings 40-45 undergraduate researchers to Duquesne for a 10-week intensive research experience each summer. An NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates program is in its 6th year of providing undergraduate students with a summer research experience integrating computational and experimental approaches to research problems. Undergraduates are supported through University funding to enable and encourage presentation of their research at national meetings. For the past 5 years, an active Project SEED summer program has brought 19 economically disadvantaged high school students, more than half of them African American, to the Duquesne campus for enriching summer research experiences. It is anticipated that both the students in REU program and students in SEED program will greatly benefit from the renovated laboratories.