Stories that follow:
The Kresge Endowment Challenge for Science
The Joel P. Benezet Fund for Southwest Studies
Partners in Learning
Modern Equipment Enhances Research
By KATHY BRANDT
n 1959, physicist and Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman said, "The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. Ultimately we can do chemical synthesis. Put the atoms down where the chemist says, and so you make the substance." Colorado College chemistry professor Sally Meyer and senior chemistry major Steve Metzger are exploring just those possibilities.
Called molecular nanotechnology, it involves the fabrication of nanometer (one-billionth of a meter) scale structures though precise mechanical control. Scientists talk about manipulating individual atoms and molecules with macroscopic devices or "hands" and developing "self-assembling molecular machines." Sound like science fiction? Some call it creative thinking. Certainly it is the stuff that makes science education exciting and relevant.
Those involved in this research envision a host of applications, ranging from computers that use an atom to store information to structures that are 80 percent stronger than aerospace aluminum. Others are exploring environmental and medical implications. Molecular nanotechnology would be cleaner than existing technologies, they say, because it involves more precise control of how molecules are arranged. Existing processes often involve combustion and produce by-products like nitrogen oxides and ash. Further, the intermediate product must be cleaned, leaving the problem of toxic solvent disposal. Because molecular nanotechnology would involve synthesizing only what is needed without the harmful by-products, industry would be cleaner.
In medicine, we might ultimately be able to develop a molecular machine that would target and kill cancer cells or manipulate individual molecules in the body. Some scientists are working on protein design, which has enormous implications in medicine because proteins play a major role in muscular movement, cell division and hormone response.
There is much to learn. Unless these molecular systems are stable, they will not work. To study that stability, Meyer and Metzger use high-powered and sophisticated computers to analyze the movement of a linear nanorod, or a chain of some 100 atoms. A RISC 6000 computer workstation with enormous memory and computing capability makes it possible to apply complicated mathematical formulas. Once calculations are complete, they use a silicon graphics computer to translate those abstract numbers into a moving picture. They can see how these molecular machines would actually act, and they can videotape that activity.
"Without this highly technical equipment, we could not conduct our research," says Metzger. To expand this research and to enhance classroom activity, Meyer would like to see the chemistry department acquire an atomic force microscope so students can learn about the forces of molecules. With such a microscope, they could actually move atoms and molecule, putting theory into practice.
Last November, Meyer and Metzger presented their research, "Computational Studies of Positional Stability," at the fourth general conference on nanotechnology. For Metzger, the conference provided an opportunity to meet other scientists on a professional level. In addition, the research and publishing process will give him leverage as he applies to graduate school in chemical engineering.
This year, Steve Metzger is one of 50 or more students who has joined forces with a faculty member to conduct research. All agree that learning is enhanced for every science student at Colorado College because of access to sophisticated equipment, in and out of the classroom. In psychology, students study the way people code rhythm or perceive pitch difference. Thanks to state-of-the-art computers, they spend about six hours in their lab, perfecting experimental sequences that provide important information about language, perception and brain function. Without modern technology, it would take 40 hours to conduct similar research.
The students have five computers available to conduct research. The department really needs a computer classroom with eight or 10 computers, says Weir. There is a misconception that we use computers only for word processing. We also need them for graphics, for running experiments and for analyzing data."
Students working with psychology professor Bob Jacobs use a sophisticated microscope linked to a computer to map the myriad branches of microscopic nerve cells in the human brain. In sports science, modern equipment gives students the preparation they need to get into and succeed in graduate school. Much of that equipment is also used campuswide for wellness screening or fitness analyses.
Bruce Kola, sports science lecturer and athletic trainer, wants to expand anatomy and physiology to a two block course and develop an extended format course in kinesiology with a surgical component. "We are teaching human anatomy and physiology using a plastic model," says Kola. "It is really inadequate but better than nothing. We hope to set up a lab in Cossitt next year. In the long term, we would like some space to work more closely with such natural connections as neuroscience."
Chemistry professor Howard Drossman has high hopes for a new, environmental science lab. In a well-equipped lab, students could collect, evaluate and assess data and contribute to solving environmental problems. He envisions the first shared, interdisciplinary lab on campus - - a lab that would encourage greater communication, planning, development and teaching among science departments. Such a laboratory would propel CC as a national leader in environmental science education.
Keeping pace with the avalanche of change in science is no simple task. In 1959, Feynman envisioned moving atoms; in 1990, scientists placed them in precise positions. Who knows where science education and research will be in next millennium. Clearly, though, Colorado College students and faculty will be in the thick of it.
The Kresge Endowment Challenge for Science
The Kresge Foundation recently awarded Colorado College $250,000 for science instrumentation, coupled with a challenge grant requiring the College to raise $1 million for the endowment of science equipment. Colorado College has until July, 1996, to meet this challenge. Once met, the foundation will reward that effort with an additional grant of $250,000, creating a $1.25 million endowment fund to be used exclusively for the repair and replacement of science equipment. Gifts to the Kresge Endowment Challenge also count toward the Packard Challenge, the $16 million fundraising effort to match the $4 million gift of philanthropist David Packard. Written pledges, which may be multi-year, will qualify if they are made before July 1, 1996. For instance, a $50,000 gift can be spread over five years as long as the pledge is received by the target date. For further information, contact Elaine Freed, associate vice president for development, at 800-782-6306.
The Joel P. Benezet Fund for Southwest Studies
A Pooled Income Fund
By KATHY BRANDTJoel Benezet, son of former Colorado College president Louis T. Benezet, was a sophomore at Dartmouth College in 1963. Actively engaged in ideas about multiculturalism, he had just written a paper about the attitudes, hopes and plans of Hispanics he had worked with the previous summer. He was anxious to act on his ideas but he never got the chance. He died in an accident when he was 19.
As a youngster, Dr. Benezet said Joel demonstrated a compassion and sensitivity beyond his years. "There was not a particle of prejudice in him. Race and color had no distinction for him."
As a tribute to his son, Dr. Benezet has made a gift to the College in the form of a pooled income fund, which will ultimately create the Joel P. Benezet Memorial in support of the Hulbert Center for Southwest Studies. The gift honors both Joel and Dr. Benezet's goal to help minorities, especially Native Americans, by giving them access to higher education.
Not only was Joel committed to helping minorities, but he also had a great love for the mountains and was active in the Baca region of the San Luis Valley. On his last outing in Colorado, he climbed in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. "The Southwest Studies Center seemed a natural choice for the endowment," says Dr. Benezet. "It encompasses Joel's love for the Southwest, as well as his commitment to minorities."
The fund reinforces Dr. Benezet's own values, too. The former president describes the fund as "a way to promote CC's ability to reach out to minorities and the cultures they represent." Often Louis Benezet has spoken about "elite liberal arts colleges, detached from a distressed nation, colleges where 80 percent of the student body is composed of upper-class white students." The Hulbert Center aims to counteract that situation.
Dr. Benezet was president of the College from 1955 to 1963. Inspired by the vision that CC could become a top-notch liberal arts and sciences institution, he was the moving force in improving the quality of the College. Under his leadership, donors supported construction of Rastall Center, Olin Hall, Tutt Library, the Honnen Ice Rink and Schlessman Pool, the fraternity complex and a new heating plant. During his tenure, the number of faculty increased by 50 percent, the curriculum was enriched, and admission standards were raised. Dr. Benezet left an indelible mark on Colorado College, and he continues to do so through this generous and significant gift in his son's name.
Why a Pooled Income Fund Gift?
When you contribute to the pooled income fund, you make a meaningful gift to Colorado College. In the process, you may also benefit from:
-- a variable life-time income payment from your share of the earnings in the fund (much like a mutual fund)
-- an immediate charitable tax deduction credit in the year of gift
-- avoidance of capital gains tax if you use appreciated securities as the funding asset
-- reduced probate and estate taxes.
Beyond the many personal financial benefits is the satisfaction of supporting a good cause. For more information, call Margaret Hillman, director of leadership gifts and planned giving, at 800-782-6306.