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。该项目涉及科学院彼得森大厅的翻新，科学院是爱荷华州锡达拉皮兹的一所小型私立本科大学。 这座建筑建于1968年，是学院所有科学实验室的所在地。 现有结构的问题包括：三楼的一面墙开裂和分离;窗户灰泥和窗框腐蚀;窗户不再打开;管道经常漏水;电力容量太低，不适用于现代研究设备和环境系统;许多房间的压缩空气、蒸汽和煤气系统无法工作;空气处理器无法实现气候控制;进行痕量分析的房间缺乏气流隔离;建筑原有的热水系统已超过使用寿命;储藏室缺乏适当的储存和通风条件。此次翻新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、照明设备、一些管道系统、窗户、内墙覆盖物、门框和一些内墙;翻修电气、管道、供暖、制冷、空气调节、通风柜和温度控制系统;重新配置实验室工作台&空间;以及网络布线。 国家科学基金会将承担部分翻修大楼的总费用，以支付与研究和研究培训有关的部分翻修费用。以下是在彼得森大厅进行研究的领域的例子，这些领域将通过翻修得到加强：氧化物玻璃的物理学及其结构-性质关系，包括硼酸盐玻璃中超结构基团的研究，用于放射性废物掺入的复杂三组分和四组分硼硅酸盐玻璃的结构，以及各种新型碱金属和碱土金属钒酸盐玻璃的结构;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;微生物生态学的物种，有能力使用三价铁和硫化合物作为电子受体的增长，在没有氧气的情况下，在小鼠小胶质细胞的分子改变，发生刺激后，与促炎和抗炎细胞因子与应用性腺类固醇;蝾螈的基因表达模式，Ambystoma mexicanum;海洋蠕虫生物成分的研究;农业化学品在自然环境中的命运;玻璃材料的电子结构和玻璃表面的腐蚀;以及超配位14族化合物的合成、结构和反应性。该奖项将帮助这所文科学院保持一个充满活力的本科生研究项目，为本科生获得有意义的研究经验提供一个范例。 除了为研究和研究培训提供基础设施外，翻新还将提供一个资源，用于涉及高中学生、高中教师、本科生和访问教师的夏季研究项目。 它将支持与日本、加拿大、意大利和英国的研究人员及其学生的合作。 它将促进面向小学、初中和高中学生以及公众的科学和数学公共外联活动。 它将为来到Coe进行本科生研究经验计划的Coe以外的本科生提供更好的资源。

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.