Last modified: Monday, July 8, 2002
IU garners $2.2 million research and teaching grant
Award benefits both students and teachers
EDITORS: This release is embargoed until July 9, 2002, 12:01 a.m., EDT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University has been selected to receive a four-year, $2.2 million Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Science Education Program grant to support IU's innovative teaching and research proposals. This is the second such HHMI award IU has received.
IU's accepted proposal consists of four different programs in biology, biochemistry and neural science -- fields that provide a foundation for medical research. The programs, two of which begin this fall, are as follows:
* The Summer Research Institute - An outreach program designed to help high school teachers teach science more effectively using cutting-edge tools and examples.
* The Integrated Freshman Learning Experience - Incoming IU freshmen arrive eight weeks prior to the beginning of their first semesters to begin work in an appropriate lab. The freshmen also participate in a student-driven seminar/lab course during their first year.
* Inquiry-based Curriculum Enhancement - Undergraduates are assigned interesting research questions and given guidance by graduate students. Graduate students gain teaching experience while undergraduates acquire critical thinking skills.
* Capstone - So named because only students near the end of their undergraduate studies are eligible, this program enables 230 students each year to receive research funding for projects in one of the three specified scientific fields.
Awards ranging from $1.2 million to $2.2 million were given this year to 43 other colleges and universities. IU was one of only seven institutions to receive the maximum amount.
Biology Associate Chair for Teaching Lynda Delph is program director. Other IU faculty assisting her in implementing the programs are chemist Andrew Feig, chemist Evelyn Jabri, Chancellor's Professor of Psychology George Rebec, biologist Michael Wade, biologist George Malacinski, biologist J. Jose Bonner and education professor William Harwood.
HHMI is a medical research organization whose principal mission is to further biomedical research.
Note: To arrange an interview with Delph, contact David Bricker at 812-856-9035.
