Improvement of Facilities for Faculty-Student Collaborative Research

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。玛丽鲍德温学院是弗吉尼亚州最大的女子学院。玛丽鲍德温学院成立于1842年，当时名为奥古斯塔女子神学院。詹姆斯·d·皮尔斯科学中心成立于20世纪60年代末，旨在体现一种新的、实践的、以研究为基础的本科科学教育方法。皮尔斯大楼是该学院唯一一座专门用于自然科学的建筑。自1970年开放以来，这座建筑只进行了轻微的修改，在科学、技术和功能上早已过时，这使得教职员工越来越难以开展持续的研究项目。资金用于将皮尔斯科学中心的一部分改造成最先进的合作研究培训环境，将四层，46,000平方英尺的建筑改造成一个互动空间，以支持强调校园师生研究和与附近较大机构的协同工作。翻新将支持两个跨学科节点的研究：神经科学和细胞信号和环境系统监测。翻新后的空间将为跨学科的多个用户提供使用仪器的机会，并为高级论文研究提供更大的知名度和突出性。将对暖通空调系统进行升级，以符合现行的通风和空气质量标准；电力系统，为设备提供改进的、节能的照明和充足的电力；内置工作柜和通风柜，以满足当前的效率和效用标准；以及提供现代网络功能的技术基础设施。它将为越来越多的年轻女性科学家（包括相当大比例的有色人种女性）提供接触下一代研究方法和仪器的机会。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Mary Baldwin College is the largest college primarily for women in Virginia. Mary Baldwin College was founded in 1842 as Augusta Female Seminary. The James D. Pearce Science Center was conceived in the late 1960s to embody a new, hands-on, research-based approach to undergraduate science education. Pearce is the college's only building devoted to the natural sciences. With only minor modifications since it opened in 1970, the building has long since become scientifically, technologically, and functionally outmoded, making it increasingly difficult for faculty to carry out sustained research programs. Funds are provided to renovate parts of the Pearce Science Center into a state of the art collaborative research training environment, transforming the four-story, 46,000-square foot building into an interactive space that supports an emphasis on faculty-student research on campus and synergistic work with nearby larger institutions. The renovations will support research in two interdisciplinary nodes: Neuroscience and Cell Signaling and Environmental Systems Monitoring. The renovated space will provide access to instrumentation by multiple users across disciplines, and provide senior thesis research with greater visibility and prominence. The HVAC systems will be upgraded to meet current ventilation and air quality standards; electrical systems to provide improved, energy efficient lighting and adequate power for equipment; built-in casework and hoods to meet current standards of efficiency and utility; and technological infrastructure to provide modern networking capabilities. It will provide access for a growing cohort of young female scientists, including a significant percentage of women of color, to next-generation research approaches and instrumentation.