Renovation of Scientific Research Laboratory Facilities at Duquesne University

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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 The renovation will include: plumbing upgrades; replacement of worn bench tops and casework; replacement of outdated and inefficient hoods; upgrade/replacement of inadequate existing HVAC; and most importantly safety upgrades.The proposed renovations will result in more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.