Author: Shadia Munoz-Najar

Over the past few years, Stetson faculty members, including Dr. John T. York, Dr. Michael King and Dr. Tandy Grubbs, have been hard at work writing and securing much-needed grants through the National Science Foundation (NSF) to benefit the science departments. Most recently, the NSF has awarded the university a $200,000 grant to purchase a state-of-the-art 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, which will better allow Stetson’s science professors to develop a new chemistry and biochemistry curriculum centered around hands-on labs and research. Through the NSF’s Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science (TUES), and its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs, Stetson will develop new ways to use NMR instrumentation in a broad range of chemistry courses.

“We’re very thrilled,” said Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. John York, the Co-Principal Investigator for the grant. “With this piece of equipment, our goal is to expose students to world-class instrumentation and give ourstudents hands-on access and exposure to a cutting-edge research tool.”

Jacob Geri, a senior majoring in Chemistry, also expressed excitement about the update to the department, saying “I’m very excited to be able to work with this vital piece of equipment. We’ll be able to go beyond mere simulation and see and use our results. There’s really no limit.” The instrument, which has been installed, was also made possible thanks to the Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Foundation, Inc. of West Palm Beach, which contributed $100,000 toward the purchase.

The NSF is also currently funding a $610,000 renovation of five science research labs in Sage Hall – three for Chemistry and two for Biology. Funded by a NSF grant made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the renovations started about one year ago this fall and are now almost completely finished.

Dr. Michael King, Professor of Biology, has worked as the Principal Investigator overseeing the grant writing and working with fellow faculty members including Dr. Grubbs, Dr. Melissa Gibbs, Dr. York and Dr. Camille King. “The rooms were outdated and almost unusable, so it was time for some changes,” said Dr. King. “It’s all about having safe and modern spaces within which teachers and students can collaborate.”

In 2012, the university will complete a five-year program in which the NSF is providing scholarships for students majoring in Chemistry or Physics. Grubbs composed the grant with the assistance of Co-Principal Investigators Drs. George S. Glander III and Michael King. Currently, about 300 students per year are enrolled in Chemistry and Biochemistry from at least 12 different majors.

“President Obama is depending on the NSF to help lead the nation to a new era of discovery and innovation,” said NSF Director Arden L. Bement, Jr.,“ Investments in research and education build a stronger economic foundation for the country.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama in 2009, and is an unprecedented effort to jump-start our economy, create or save millions of jobs and address long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The U.S. Department of Education states that the Recovery Act is an extraordinary response to a crisis and includes measures to modernize our nation’s infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief and protect those in greatest need.

By Elizabeth Bogart ’12 

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The National Science Foundation has awarded Stetson University a $200,000 grant to develop a new chemistry and biochemistry curriculum centered around hands-on labs and research using a state-of-the-art 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer.

Through the NSF’s Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science (TUES), Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program, Stetson will develop new ways to use NMR instrumentation in a broad range of chemistry courses. The new curriculum will then be made available for use by other colleges and universities nationwide.

“The award of this most competitive National Science Foundation grant is a significant recognition of Stetson’s excellence in cutting-edge natural science education,” said Dr. Elizabeth “Beth” Paul, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Stetson. “I commend the excellence and strong leadership of our chemistry faculty in this major accomplishment.”

“We’re very thrilled,” said Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dr. John T. York, the faculty member overseeing the project. “This is an extremely competitive national grant program, and our contribution will help to transform the way undergraduates study chemistry and biochemistry.”

The Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Foundation, Inc. of West Palm Beach contributed $100,000 toward the purchase of the NMR spectrometer. The new NMR will be ordered this summer and installed this fall in Sage Hall, the primary teaching and research facility for the Natural Sciences at Stetson. Faculty will then begin to incorporate use of the NMR spectrometer into all chemistry and biochemistry courses – from beginner-level to advanced. The instrument will also be available for student and faculty research, an integral part of undergraduate education at Stetson.

Currently, about 300 students per year are enrolled in chemistry and biochemistry classes and labs from at least 12 different majors ranging from integrative health science to aquatic and marine biology. Thus, all students in the Natural Sciences at Stetson would gain experience in using this real-world research instrumentation, not just chemistry and biochemistry majors. The NMR spectrometer is the most powerful tool chemists have for the characterization and identification of chemical compounds.

“In traditional undergraduate training, students get limited access to this instrumentation, mainly through organic chemistry,” York said. “But evidence shows students learn best through doing. The NMR spectrometer is the best and most widely used tool in chemistry, and we believe it can and should be used more broadly throughout the chemistry and biochemistry curriculum.”

“We want to give students hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment,” he said. “They will get to use this instrument themselves. This will help them understand concepts that are otherwise just abstract ideas.”

Initially, Stetson will use existing laboratory experiments based on the NMR, an instrument used widely in collegiate science education and in chemical research. As part of the three-year project, the university also will develop new lab experiments and manage a nationwide chemical education database for other colleges and universities to use. Stetson will also create tools to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of the new curriculum.

Stetson’s chemistry and biochemistry programs are accredited by the American Chemical Society.

The new project is the latest in Stetson’s recent efforts to strengthen science education. Many of those initiatives support federal goals to increase the number of students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields – disciplines at the heart of the nation’s scientific infrastructure.

The NSF is currently funding a $610,000 renovation of five science research labs in Sage Hall – three for chemistry and two for biology. Those renovations are being completed this summer. A number of upgrades were made to the 1960s-era Sage Hall between 2003 and 2008, including the purchase of state-of-the-art science instrumentation. In 2009, the university opened its 22,000-square-foot Science Center, which is attached to Sage Hall, and the Rinker Environmental Learning Center.

The university is midway through a six-year program in which the NSF is providing scholarships for students majoring in chemistry or physics. Stetson’s Division of Natural Sciences added its first two endowed, distinguished faculty chairs in 2009 – new Lynn and Mark Hollis Chair of Health and Wellness and the Cici and Hyatt Brown Faculty Fellow & Visiting Professor Program.

In addition, the Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Foundation, Inc. gift toward the NMR will help students in chemistry courses for years to come and represents a portion of the foundation’s philanthropy toward science facilities at Stetson.

The university has had a major emphasis in recent years on increasing the number of students majoring in science, attracting more minority and women students to the science disciplines, and reaching out to environmental organizations and high school students and teachers.

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