Keck-phase-1-summary

1. Abstract [150 words]:

Provide an executive summary of the project, including overall goal, methodology and significance, for a lay audience.

Earlham College requests $358,877 to develop multidisciplinary science curriculum modules and student/faculty research projects focusing on a common core problem: metals in the environment. This project will emphasize collaboration among our natural science departments, including biology, chemistry, computer science, geosciences, mathematics, and environmental science. Scientific research is becoming increasingly multidisciplinary, collaborative, and computational. Therefore, it is essential to train our students to develop multi-faceted approaches to problem solving that use both traditional laboratory techniques and computational methods. This project will introduce an important scientific problem, metals in the environment, ask students to collect and analyze data, and to make interpretations using different disciplinary perspectives in both coursework and independent research projects with faculty. We believe this idea of collaborative multidisciplinary learning will transform our undergraduate curriculum in the sciences and provide a model for programs among the sciences at other liberal arts colleges.

2. Unique Aspects:

Describe unique or distinctive aspects of this project.

Four aspects of our project work together to make it powerful and unique: 1) introducing students to modern multidisciplinary science which utilizes teams of scientists to inform and illuminate different disciplinary perspectives of a problem; 2) the combined use of field, laboratory, and computational methods; 3) the longitudinal involvement of students as they take introductory through upper-level science classes; and 4) our focus on a problem of local concern.

With the incorporation of research modules into courses and further development of our multidisciplinary summer research activities, this project will blur the line between modern scientific research and education. These research modules will be integrated into courses beginning with the introductory courses in chemistry, biology, geosciences, statistics, and computer science and will become increasingly complex in upper level courses in these disciples. Both course modules and summer research projects will focus on a problem of local concern and include laboratory, field, and computational modeling components.

3. Key Personnel:

Name the key personnel, and describe their credentials, role in the proposed project, and any collaborations/partnerships.

• Chemistry
  • Michael Deibel (Associate Professor of Chemistry, Ph.D. in Radioanalytical Chemistry, University of Kentucky, The Evaluation of Trace Elements Related to the Oxidative Damage Hypothesis of Alzheimer’s Disease) has been teaching for ten years. He has 13 publications (6 related to metal analysis) and has expertise in multiple methods of metal analysis (ICP-AES, GFAAS, FAAS, NAA). As part of this project, Dr. M. Deibel will help develop course modules for environmental chemistry and instrumental analysis. In addition, he will conduct independent research with students to analyze water, soil and biological samples for various metals. Currently, he is collaborating with Dr. Gary Van Berkel (ORNL) on the analysis of compounds in herbal extracts.
  • Corinne Deibel (Associate Professor of chemistry, Ph.D. Radioanalytical Chemistry, University of Kentucky, 1995). Dr. C. Deibel has been teaching analytical chemistry since 1997 and has extensive experience in metal analysis, both for class projects and undergraduate summer research projects. She will participate in the development and implementation of the teaching modules in general and analytical chemistry.

• Geosciences
  • Meg Streepey (Assistant Professor of Geosciences, Ph.D. University of Michigan, 2001). Dr. Streepey will be creating and implementing teaching modules in geoscience courses and working on the integration of those modules. She has previous experience working as an interdisciplinary curriculum developer at the undergraduate level.

• Biology
  • David Matlack (Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology, DVM Purdue University, 1984.) Dr. Matlack has thirteen years experience as a practicing veterinarian and eight years experience teaching. He will be involved in tissue handling for metal analysis as well as in implementing the modules into cell physiology and animal physiology courses.
  • John Iverson (Professor of Biology, Ph.D. Zoology, University of Florida, 1977). Dr. Iverson has approximately 150 publications, 40 of which have been co-authored with students and is recognized as one of the world's leading herpetologists, specializing in the study of turtles and iguanas and their respective ecologies. He has taught at Earlham since 1978 and was named 2005 professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and regularly engages students in field research projects.

• Computer Science
  • Charlie Peck (Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Ph.D. Union Institute and University, 2006 (expected)). Charlie Peck has taught at Earlham since 1992 and was instrumental in the development of what is now the computer science department. He is an instructor for the National Computational Science Institute's summer workshops for science faculty. Charlie and his research students develop computational tools and curriculum modules for the National Science Digital Library and the Bootable Cluster CD.

Other science faculty: Lori Watson (chemistry), Mark Stocksdale (chemistry), Mic Jackson (mathematics), Ron Parker (geosciences) which in total represents approximately fifty percent of the science faculty .

For examples of how we collaborate see URL. Merck, HHMI.

=4. Budget:= Describe how funds requested from WMKF will be allocated among capital, personnel and equipment. Percentage for each area.

The $358,877 requested from WMKF will be allocated in the following manner: 56% Personnel (faculty, administrative assistant, and student stipends) 27% equipment; 17% operations.

=5. Justification for WMKF support:= Explain why support from the W. M. Keck Foundation is essential for this project.

Funding for undergraduate research at small, liberal arts colleges is limited. The WMKF is known and respected throughout the scientific community as a foundation that supports innovative science programs at high-quality undergraduate institutions. WMKF funding would allow Earlham to launch its multidisciplinary science project. Keck support would also raise the visibility of the sciences within the College and with external audiences regionally and nationally.