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Pomona
College Receives $1.3 Million Grant For Science
Education
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Pomona College, one of the nation’s premier liberal arts
institutions, has received a $1.3 million grant from the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), to enhance the
college’s well-regarded Biology Department and expand
interdisciplinary scientific programs that relate to
biology.
Pomona, well-known for its opportunities for student
research, will use the HHMI grant to increase these
opportunities; to hire doctoral fellows in biostatistics,
biochemistry, and biophysics; to enrich its science
curriculum; and to purchase equipment related to those
enhancements.
"This new grant will enable Pomona College to expand its
efforts to connect teaching and research for our students,”
says Pomona College President David Oxtoby. “Through my own
work as a scientist, I know that access to state-of-the-art
equipment and close collaboration with faculty in student
research are the key factors in encouraging students to
enter scientific fields. This grant will have significant
impact on our ability to educate future scientists for
leadership roles in this country and the world."
In recent years, the number of Pomona students engaged in
research has grown dramatically. All students majoring in
Molecular Biology are required to complete an experimental
thesis, and this year 90% of the students in Biology elected
to do so as well. The HHMI grant will allow an additional 10
students to conduct research on campus each summer,
providing stipends, and research supplies to enable them to
carry out sophisticated projects. An additional two
positions are allocated for students to work with scientists
at other institutions, in the U.S. and abroad, where many
Pomona faculty members maintain collaborations. The student
research funds will also support a summer seminar in
collaboration with other Claremont Colleges that will
involve both on-campus and visiting scientists.
“Because Pomona College’s own Summer Undergraduate Research
Participation program has more than twice as many
applications as it can fund, this is an exciting opportunity
to enhance student research,” says Laura Hoopes, a professor
of biology and molecular biology. “The chance for students
to work on aspects of their projects abroad is also
wonderful, since it is hard for science students to fit a
Study Abroad experience into their schedules.”
Being able to hire three postdoctoral fellows will allow
Pomona to provide opportunities for the fellows to obtain
valuable experience in teaching and research, preparing them
for careers in undergraduate education. Being exposed to the
high level of research activity of Pomona’s biology faculty,
as evidenced by their impressive record of research support,
will give the post-docs experience at balancing the teaching
and research demands of a career at an undergraduate
institution.
The biostatistics, biochemistry, and biophysics fellows will
be able to engage students across the scientific disciplines
and expose them to experimental techniques and approaches
used in their fields. At the same time, students working
with the fellows, or enrolled in their classes, will be
exposed to relevant, biological applications within the
fellows’ areas of expertise, emphasizing the
interdisciplinary nature of much scientific research. In
addition to teaching, the fellows will engage in an active
research project in collaboration with a faculty member.
The two major initiatives to enhance the new science
curriculum involve the design and implementation of new
courses in interdisciplinary fields and the introduction of
new biological interdisciplinary laboratory modules into
courses in the physical sciences and mathematics. The new
courses include Mathematical Methods for Life Scientists and
a redesign of one section of introductory Physics II to
stress biomedical applications. The modules, which are
intended to be flexibly incorporated into more than one
course, will emphasize current measurement techniques used
in the life sciences, such as brain electrochemistry,
biomedical imaging, microarray analysis, and the use of
laser tweezers.
The HHMI grant to Pomona was part of $49.7 million in grants
to 42 educational institutions in 17 states and Puerto Rico,
announced on May 18, 2004. HHMI invited 198 public and
private baccalaureate and master’s institutions to compete
for the new awards. Pomona was among those selected for
their record of preparing students for graduate education
and careers in research, teaching, or medicine. A panel of
distinguished scientists and educators reviewed proposals
and recommended the 42 awards, which were approved by the
Institute’s Board of Trustees on May 4.
The HHMI grant proposal was a joint effort of Pomona’s
Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer
Science, and Physics, and Programs in Molecular Biology and
Neuroscience. The grant comes at a pivotal time. In 2002,
Pomona completed a comprehensive fundraising campaign whose
major goals included the upgrading and expansion of all
science facilities. This included the construction of the
Andrew Building for Mathematics, Computer Sciences and
Physics; renovation of the Seaver Laboratory for Chemistry;
the construction of the Richard C. Seaver Biology Building,
future home to the Biology, Molecular Biology and
Neuroscience programs; renovation of the Seaver South
laboratory building; and new buildings for Psychology,
Geology and Computer Science, currently in the planning
stages. Completion of all of these projects, by 2007, will
provide Pomona with unparalleled facilities for
undergraduate research and education in science.
Pomona College, founded in 1887, offers a comprehensive
program in the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural
sciences. Its hallmarks include small classes, close
relationships between students and faculty, and a range of
opportunities for student research. Visit Pomona College on
the web at www.pomona.edu.
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