Renovation of Scientific Research Laboratory Facilities at Duquesne University

该奖项由 2009 年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法 111-5）资助。该项目将翻新和升级杜肯大学理查德金梅隆科学馆现有的特定研究实验室和设施。 翻新工程将包括： 管道升级；更换磨损的台面和柜子；更换过时且低效的抽油烟机；升级/更换现有不足的暖通空调；最重要的是安全升级。拟议的改造将为六名研究人员的个人研究实验室以及共享设施带来更高效、更安全的研究环境。这些研究小组在美国国家科学基金会、美国国立卫生研究院和能源部的资助下，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、加深对转化金属和准金属的细菌的生理学和生物化学的了解，以及非人类灵长类动物的分子进化研究基因。拟议改造中包括的每个研究实验室都有本科研究人员作为研究小组的一部分。充满活力的夏季研究项目通常每年夏天都会吸引 40-45 名本科生研究人员到杜肯大学进行为期 10 周的强化研究体验。美国国家科学基金会资助的本科生研究体验项目已进入第六个年头，该项目为本科生提供夏季研究体验，将计算和实验方法结合起来解决研究问题。本科生通过大学资助获得支持，以促进和鼓励在全国会议上展示他们的研究成果。在过去的 5 年里，一项活跃的 SEED 暑期项目吸引了 19 名经济困难的高中生，其中一半以上是非裔美国人，来到杜肯大学校园丰富暑期研究经验。 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 The renovation will include: plumbing upgrades; replacement of worn bench tops and casework; replacement of outdated and inefficient hoods; upgrade/replacement of inadequate existing HVAC; and most importantly safety upgrades.The proposed renovations will result in more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.