Keck Foundation Proposal

This document is a set of ideas and talking points under consideration as the basis of a proposal to the W.M. Keck Foundation. The plan is to refine this and then give it to Doug so that he can have a preliminary conversation with Keck's program director (is it still Maria Pellegrini?)

Our current thinking is to build a tightly integrated set of projects which both span the natural science disciplines and are held together by a strong common thread.

• Important attributes of our proposal:
  • Student/faculty research and curriculum development. The problem areas we will consider can manifest both research and learning modules. This allows us to "re-use" both our human and equipment investments and further strengthen the ties between scientific discovery and teaching.
  • Wet lab work and computationally based aspects. The problems we consider will be amenable to both laboratory and computational research methods. It's widely acknowledged that computational research is an important new direction for basic scientific understanding in a wide range of disciplines. By working the same problem from both perspectives, students will gain a deeper understanding of the issues at hand and learn about the relationship between the different research methodologies.
  • Interdisciplinary. Within the sciences at Earlham this is a given, we want to learn how we got here and figure-out how to spread the word. All of the threads and projects we are considering would offer the ability for most, if not all, of the science division departments to participate in meaningful ways.
  • Locally rooted. The expression "think globally, act locally" is as true for scientists as it is anyone. One aspect of this is to choose a thread and projects that build on our local expertise. Another important aspect is working in our local environment--be it back campus, a reservoir, or a farmer's fields. Local research projects are much easier to integrate into the curriculum and to maintain year-round. Working locally would also make it much easier to do long-term data collection and monitoring.

• Ideas we have considered as "threads" that would run through the science curriculum and our research in a variety of departments and classes: <<Might we need just a sentence about each of these? We might if we want him to ask which one(s) might interest Keck more (at least for the initial grant). But I'm not clear on whether we're asking him to do that or not. Just a suggestion below (especially, since I'm really a bit fuzzy on what we were proposing for the last 2).>>
  • Pesticides: Building on local expertise developed in studying the concentration and effects of atrazine in groundwater, we would propose studying pesticides in the Richmond area. Possible areas of investigation might include determination of concentrations, computational modeling of distribution, effects on area plant and animal life, and evaluation of pesticide degradation products.
  • Metals: The environmental impact of local industry and geology on ground water sources would be studied using such methods computational modeling, analytical techniques, and effects/evidence of metal uptake by plants or aquatic life.
  • Proteins, DNA, or another biomolecule: The relationship of structure to function is particularly important in many biomolecules. We would propose investigating both the computed and experimentally determined 3-dimensional structure of a particular biomolecule, comparing and evaluating them for consistency with the function of the protein.

• Outcomes
  • Research projects and curriculum modules for a variety of introductory and upper-level classes.
  • For science and non-science majors, a better understanding of both computational and experimental research methods, model development and verification, and interdisciplinary science research. For example, students in both majors and non-majors versions of general chemistry should come away with some understanding of how computational methods, and chemistry, and biology, and geology, work together to deepen our understanding of the problem.

<<Looking at our list of attributes, do we also want to include an outcome that matches the locally rooted attribute? A generic version might look something like: "Introduce students to scientific problems which incorporate local and regional issues and resources."

• Questions
  • Are pesticides the best choice of a common thread?

Seems to me--but then again, that is the one I feel clearest on what it would involve. It seems like it incorporates many disciplines (not everyone, but I think it will be hard to have a project that truly includes every single person/discipline)

• • Barbara is going to check to see if facilities, new or renovations, are appropriate for Keck.
  • Barbara is going to check to see if major equipment purchases are appropriate for Keck.

• Things to do:
  • Check that we have addressed all the feedback we received from Keck on our last proposal.
  • Complete this document and get it to Len before Tuesday morning.