Grants awarded prior to new criteria and geographic restrictions as of August 2008. Recipient   California Polytechnic State University City   San Luis Obispo, CA Description   The project will develop an integrated, multidisciplinary, undergraduate curriculum in molecular forensics to promote an undergraduate research community and prepare students for careers and graduate study. Initially focused on producing a working database of E. coli sequences, this curriculum will be delivered to over 1,000 students each year in lab-based courses in the Colleges of Science and Mathematics, Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, and Engineering. Combining analytical procedures from microbiology, molecular biology and bioinformatics, the program will engage undergraduates in applied, cutting-edge research with broad potential in the areas of food and water safety. The requested pyrosequencing equipment, capable of rapid, sequence-based analysis of microbes, is key to the project aims: integrating explicit pedagogic, research and product development goals into the curriculum from introductory to advanced courses and senior capstone projects. The equipment fosters an experimental mindset and provides a platform for student involvement in developing a microbial forensics database to sub-type strains from a variety of sources. The proposed instrumentation will transform the way students experience the application of technology in scientific discovery and will contribute to the development of other applied research directions across campus. (Amount Awarded: $249,504) Raul Cano Recipient   Lewis & Clark City   Portland, OR Description   As it seeks to shape the future of its programs in the mathematical and natural sciences, Lewis & Clark College will take advantage of the inherent flexibility of the liberal arts setting to make significant changes in its science curriculum and its research environment. Within the next three years, Lewis & Clark will develop the academic discipline of nanoscience through enhanced curriculum, the hire of postdoctoral researchers/teachers, acquisition of a new scanning electron microscope, and support of new and established faculty research projects in this area. Lewis & Clark's proposed nanoscience program development is unique among regional liberal arts institutions as the aim of program is to advance undergraduate liberal arts education in which students have access to hands-on research opportunities in nanoscience at a level far beyond average offerings. Lewis & Clark will benefit from this project for decades after the proposed grant period expires, as this project lays the foundation for faculty research programs sure to succeed, courses that will allow students to understand the technology and science of the future, and access to cutting-edge equipment by generations of students. (Amount Awarded: $250,000) Julio de Paula Undergraduate Education - Liberal Arts Recipient   Mount St. Mary’s College City   Los Angeles, CA Description   Mount St. Mary's College seeks to increase the use of film as a campus-wide pedagogical tool while expanding its program in film and social justice, a unique undergraduate major that uses the power of filmmaking to promote active learning across academic disciplines, engages students in the local community, and, ultimately, develops strong-voiced leaders who will contribute to positive social change. The program has demonstrated its ability to give students the skills both to make powerful films that address important social justice issues and to gain entry into the entertainment industry - where, as women from diverse ethnic backgrounds, they are vastly underrepresented. With a fully developed curriculum, established internship relationships and newly constructed production and editing studios, the film and social justice program is poised to expand. The requested funds will primarily support: a) expansion of two part-time faculty positions to full-time over the three-year grant period; b) reassigned time for the program director; and c) acquisition of film production equipment. The goals are to build enrollment in the program, further integrate the program into other departments, develop a strong online presence, and expand the program's impact beyond the College through partnerships with high schools and community-based organizations, and - ultimately - to increase diversity in the film industry. (Amount Awarded: $250,000) Pam Haldeman Recipient   University of Redlands City   Redlands, CA Description   LEarNing Spatially (LENS) is a campus-wide initiative promoting spatial literacy as a foundational component within an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum. LENS harnesses the integrative power of geography with technologies to help faculty and students visualize knowledge, solve problems, and understand relationships through a spatial lens. We create opportunities for faculty and students from diverse liberal arts disciplines to use maps, mapping and spatial perspectives in order to develop new understanding and insights for their teaching and research. Our approach targets faculty development through fellowships and workshops, student opportunities through internships and collaborative research, and enhancements to existing technical support and infrastructure. We emphasize graphicacy skills among students, adding “critical viewing” expertise to the other competencies in writing, reading, speaking and thinking that are cultivated during higher education. LENS moves beyond teaching simply a tool or suite of technologies; it represents a global first for how 21st century geospatial technologies can be linked to the greater pedagogic objectives of critical thinking and problem-based learning. (Amount Awarded: $250,000) Diana Sinton Recipient   Whittier College City   Whittier, CA Description   Whittier College seeks support for the establishment of two Centers: for Science, Health, and Policy; and for Interdisciplinary Collaborations with the Arts. These Centers will maximize student learning by advancing the College's deep commitment to interdisciplinary curricula, collaborative teaching, undergraduate research and internships, and the integration of student learning experiences within local, national and international communities. A centerpiece of the project will be the Keck Undergraduate Fellows Program which will give financial and mentoring support to 21 of the College's best students, providing funds for internships and research assistantships in the summer following their junior year and for continuing scholarly activity during their senior year. Requested funds also will support the development of eight new interdisciplinary courses tied to the two Centers; travel to external communities; visits from field leaders to campus; interdisciplinary symposiums; and course release time for the Centers' faculty Directors as they lead faculty in the execution of new Center activities. The primary goal, building upon Whittier's curricular strengths, is to establish the Centers as interdisciplinary and community-oriented focal points of intellectual activity and high student achievement on campus. (Amount Awarded: $250,000) Charlotte Borst Recipient   California State University, Northridge City   Northridge, CA Description   The College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) at California State University Northridge (CSUN), in collaboration with the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), will acquire a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). This system will provide the fundamental tools needed by faculty and students in the interdisciplinary Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) program to investigate the complex phenomena that occur at the nanosize scale, and should advance the overall goal of bridging experimental and theoretical approaches to nanotechnology in research and teaching. The FESEM-NUE project will greatly enrich both colleges undergraduate curricula, increase early student exposure to nanotechnology, provide opportunities for student participation in sophisticated academic-industry research collaborations, and grant diverse students a competitive advantage for graduate studies and careers while meeting their financial needs. The project builds upon earlier curricular advances and student research engagement achieved with advanced computing equipment and sensitive microanalytic instrumentation acquired under a prior W.M. Keck Foundation grant. (Amount Awarded: $500,000) Recipient   Simmons College City   Boston, MA Description   The Undergraduate Laboratory Renaissance program will replace closed-end laboratory experiments with research-based laboratory work in each area of undergraduate science. A project based on a faculty member's research will form the basis for the semester's laboratory work, with teams of four students working on different aspects of the project. Upper-division majors will mentor students in research methodology and instrumental techniques. To coordinate research activity among several laboratory sections meeting each week, a Wiki-based laboratory notebook will be used to communicate results. When this research-based program is fully implemented, all students contemplating majors in chemistry, biochemistry, chemistry/pharmacy, and biology will participate in research beginning in the sophomore year following an introduction to research methodology during the spring of their first year.(Amount Awarded:$245,000) Recipient   University of California, Los Angeles City   Los Angeles, CA Description   UCLA has identified, as a critical next step in its Digital Humanities initiative, the creation of an undergraduate curriculum in the emergent field of digital cultural mapping. By integrating Geographic Information Systems into traditional methods of humanistic inquiry, digital cultural mapping uses informatics, spatial modeling, and time-space visualizations to create new tools and methods for investigating cultural, historical and social dynamics. Building on the tradition of a liberal arts education at UCLA, the curriculum will teach students critical reasoning, sound judgment, intellectual openness, and team-based problem solving. Students will learn to utilize, create, and evaluate the tools and technologies related to the geo-temporal web, a global information network in which location and information have merged together and datastreams are organized, processed, and viewed according to the parameters of space and time. The curriculum is unique because it draws faculty from seven different disciplines, bridges the resources of three research and teaching centers at UCLA, and uses new geo-technologies to develop collaborative, project-based approaches to learning with real-world applications. (Amount Awarded:$500,000) Recipient   Carleton College City   Northfield, MN Description   To support expansion of the Quantitative Inquiry, Reasoning, and Knowledge (QUIRK) Initiative to non-science disciplines. Recipient   Hampton University City   Hampton, VA Description   To incorporate genomics into the biology curriculum by setting up undergraduate DNA microarray and bioinformatics labs. Recipient   Millsaps College City   Jackson, MS Description   To support interdisciplinary undergraduate archaeological research focused on the comparative study of an Old World and a New World culture. Recipient   St. Edward's University City   Austin, TX Description   To establish an interdisciplinary undergraduate research project on HIV drug resistance that will be integrated into portions of a course on science literacy. Recipient   St. Lawrence University City   Canton, NY Description   To facilitate the development of interdisciplinary learning environments for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Recipient   Texas Lutheran University City   Seguin, TX Description   To enhance the physics and pre-engineering programs by purchasing an NMR to establish a Transport Lab for hands-on student learning. Recipient   Council of Independent Colleges City   Washington, DC Description   To support a program that will develop sustainable models of effective language learning at liberal arts institutions. Recipient   Earlham College City   Richmond, IN Description   To develop interdisciplinary curriculum modules and student/faculty research projects focusing on metals in the environment. Recipient   Gonzaga University City   Spokane, WA Description   To purchase four power workstations for the transmission and distribution engineering program. Recipient   Loyola Marymount University City   Los Angeles, CA Description   To acquire state-of-the-art imaging and molecular analysis equipment for student/faculty research in biology and bioengineering. Recipient   Messiah College City   Grantham, PA Description   To support an integrated-projects curriculum in the engineering department and to extend it to the school of mathematics, engineering, and business. Recipient   California State Polytechnic University, Pomona City   Pomona, CA Description   For a suite of equipment to support interdisciplinary learning in materials design and modeling. Recipient   California State University Long Beach City   Long Beach, CA Description   To establish a facility for proteomics research and education throughout the CSU system. Recipient   Clark University City   Worcester, MA Description   To support restructuring of the undergraduate biology curriculum to an inquiry-based model. Recipient   Institute of American Indian Arts City   Santa Fe, NM Description   To support the development of a new humanities curriculum in indigenous studies. Recipient   Notre Dame de Namur University City   Belmont, CA Description   To support the development of curricula that use GIS to solve community-based problems. Recipient   Reed College City   Portland, OR Description   To fully incorporate digital images as a teaching tool throughout the curriculum. Recipient   University of La Verne City   La Verne, CA Description   To acquire a research-grade NMR spectrometer for use in courses and research. Recipient   California Lutheran University City   Thousand Oaks, CA Description   For equipment to enhance a new bioengineering major focused on mechanobiology. Recipient   California State University, San Bernardino City   San Bernardino, CA Description   To construct and equip an astronomical observatory. Recipient   College of Santa Fe City   Santa Fe, NM Description   To support a new interdisciplinary major in documentary studies. Recipient   Dickinson College City   Carlisle, PA Description   To equip two new laboratories and a smart classroom for interdisciplinary studies in archaeology and anthropology. Recipient   LeTourneau University City   Longview, TX Description   To develop laboratory modules that will strengthen conceptual links across the engineering disciplines. Recipient   Macalester College City   Saint Paul, MN Description   To develop a cross-disciplinary curriculum in data fluency. Recipient   Mississippi College City   Clinton, MS Description   To enhance and expand instrumentation for chemistry. Recipient   Occidental College City   Los Angeles, CA Description   To establish a technology-based center for intercultural partnerships. Recipient   St. Olaf College City   Northfield, MN Description   To revise the chemistry curriculum by incorporating environmentally benign approaches called green chemistry. Recipient   University of Richmond City   Richmond, VA Description   To integrate the topic of responsible leadership across the arts and science curricula at three partner institutions. Recipient   Westmont College City   Santa Barbara, CA Description   To replace the telescope and upgrade the infrastructure for an existing observatory. Recipient   Willamette University City   Salem, OR Description   To develop an interdisciplinary minor in arts and technology. Science & Engineering Research Medical Research Undergraduate Education Southern California Program