Dec 01, 2008 - Claremont, Calif. - The John Stauffer Charitable Trust has awarded a $500,000 matching challenge grant to establish an endowed fund for student research in chemistry at Harvey Mudd College (HMC). In addition to the experiential learning HMC students get from summer research, the program offers a number of professional development activities, including workshops on how to make oral and poster presentations, sessions with a librarian regarding electronic access to information, formal lab safety classes, a lecture series on topics of general interest given by HMC faculty and staff members, and industry tours to local firms and laboratories. Infomation about the John Stauffer Fund: Jannah Maresh at jmaresh@hmc.edu or 909.607.0950.
When fully funded, the John Stauffer Fund for the Harvey Mudd College Summer Research Program in Chemistry would total $1 million and provide funding for student researchers in chemistry participating in the college’s Summer Research Program.
“This opportunity has put faculty in an ebullient mood,” said Hal Van Ryswyk, chemistry professor and chair of the HMC Department of Chemistry. “This grant will allow us to substantially expand our long-running summer research program wherein 25 to 30 students work hand-in-hand with HMC chemistry faculty each summer. We will be able to offer research opportunities to more of our students, especially those in their first two years of study. Since this grant establishes an endowment, the impact will be abiding.”
Since 1960, when an early grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) allowed six HMC chemistry students to undertake research during the summer, the summer research enterprise has grown dramatically in terms of student and faculty participation and in the sophistication of the research carried out.
Summer research at HMC has spread across the college and now includes two NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs and more than 100 research projects each year funded by federal agencies, private foundations and corporations, individual donors and college sources. One hundred eighty student researchers took part in summer research in 2008 with faculty mentors.
Projects – including the development of a neurally-controlled prosthetic, the examination of a wound-healing chemical found in shrimp shells, an investigation into the collective behavior of insects, synthesis of anti-inflammatory plant products and the implementation of algorithms that identify sketches drawn on tablet computers – now span the fields of biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics and physics, and offer unique hands-on experience both on campus and around the world.
“The chemistry department and the college should be proud that all of our students have the opportunity to do research with faculty,” said Gerald Van Hecke ‘61, associate dean for administration who oversees the Summer Research Program. “This is by no means true across the country even for some of the more prestigious institutions. Our students do publishable research that more often than not appears in peer-reviewed journals.”
The Stauffer Trust, located in Pasadena, Calif., is a longtime supporter of science education at Southern California colleges and universities. It was established by prominent Los Angeles industrialist John Stauffer, who founded the Stauffer Chemical Company. The Trust recently announced a special interest in supporting research in chemistry.
HMC’s student and faculty research is funded from a variety of sources, including grants from government agencies and private donors. However, even with increased funding from donors and college sources, student interest exceeds the availability of funds for research stipends, supplies and equipment.
Endowed research funds are especially valuable because they provide a stable, sustainable source of money for this purpose.
In making this grant, the trustees of the Stauffer Trust expressed their recognition “that summer research is the primary means of providing students with an extended experience in faculty-mentored research.”
The grant also ties into several of the six themes making up HMC’s strategic vision, “HMC 2020: Envisioning the Future,” which was adopted in 2006:
Tours have been arranged to visit many businesses, including Beckman Coulter, Three Valleys Municipal Water District, The Rand Corporation, South Coast Air Quality Management District, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Raytheon, Qualcomm and Amgen.
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