Undergraduate science education at UD has received a significant boost in the form of a four-year, $1.5 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

The University was one of 50 research institutions nationwide selected to receive a total of $86.4 million in funding from the institute, which announced the grants June 1.
In its announcement, HHMI said biological sciences are “evolving rapidly, with more and more discoveries arising from interaction with other disciplines such as chemistry, mathematics and computer science,” adding that the funds will help UD and other institutions address the challenges through “bold and innovative science education programs.”

This is the fourth major grant the University has received from the Maryland-based HHMI, following a $1 million award in 1992, a $1.6 million award in 1998 and a $1.7 million grant in 2002. HHMI said the fresh funding would help strengthen and enrich undergraduate science teaching at the nation’s research universities.

“The University is very pleased to be selected once again by HHMI for this prestigious grant award,” Provost Dan Rich says. “We value HHMI’s confidence in our continued commitment to strengthening undergraduate science education. This grant will further support the innovative efforts of UD faculty to enhance student learning through the integration of interdisciplinary teaching and research.”

Hal White, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, directs the HHMI program at UD. The assistant director is David Usher, associate professor of biological sciences. “We were delighted to learn that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute would fund our Undergraduate Science Education initiative for another four years,” White says. “It means we can continue to enhance the University of Delaware’s nationally recognized efforts in undergraduate research and problem-based learning.”

White adds that there also are benefits for UD’s Network of Undergraduate Collaborative Learning Experiences for Underrepresented Scholars (NUCLEUS) Program, which encourages students in underrepresented groups to pursue careers in science. NUCLEUS is coordinated by Zakiya Wilson, who now can implement new programs designed to benefit its students, he says.

“Of particular note,” White says, “is the support HHMI has given our plans for new undergraduate programs in quantitative biology that involve faculty from mathematics, biological sciences, chemistry and biochemistry and chemical engineering, as well as from other HHMI-supported schools.”

“We believe it is vital to bring fresh perspectives to the teaching of established scientific disciplines and to develop novel courses in emerging areas, such as computational biology, genomics and bio-imaging,” Thomas R. Cech, HHMI president, says.

“Our grantee universities are providing hands-on research experiences to help prepare undergraduates, including women and minorities underrepresented in the sciences, for graduate studies and for careers in biomedical research, medicine and science education. We also hope these grants will help the universities increase the science literacy of their students, including nonscience majors.”

The University’s NUCLEUS program, which focuses on underrepresented minorities but is open to any UD student in the sciences, is one of the access-to-science initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences. The goal is to encourage academically talented students to remain in the sciences and successfully complete their bachelor’s degrees. The long-term goal is to encourage them to pursue graduate studies and then research careers in academia, government or industry.

More broadly, the initiatives seek to increase diversity in such fields as chemistry, biochemistry and biological sciences, where African Americans and Latinos are underrepresented in universities and professions nationwide.

“We want to try to convince students that research is a viable career option,” Usher says. “Many, especially many minority students, don’t have a good idea of what being a researcher involves.”

When created in 1992 with an earlier HHMI grant, NUCLEUS served 22 chemistry and biochemistry undergraduates. Today, NUCLEUS boasts more than 160 current participants in nearly 20 different science and applied science majors. Many of its 260 alumni have gone on to earn graduate and professional degrees from a variety of institutions.

The new, four-year grants to universities in 28 states and the District of Columbia range from $1.5 to $2.2 million each. A panel of scientists and educators reviewed proposals from 158 institutions before selecting the grant recipients.

HHMI has supported undergraduate science education at the nation’s colleges and universities since 1988. Through its undergraduate grants, the institute has provided 247 institutions of higher learning with nearly $700 million for programs that include undergraduate research opportunities; new faculty, courses and labs; teaching and mentoring training; and work with precollege students and teachers.

A nonprofit medical research organization, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute was established in 1953 by the aviator-industrialist. Headquartered in Chevy Chase, Md., it is one of the largest philanthropies in the world, with an endowment of $14.8 billion at the close of its 2005 fiscal year. During that year, HHMI spent $483 million in support of biomedical research and $80 million for support of a variety of science education and other grants programs.

The institute, which is dedicated to discovering and disseminating new knowledge in the basic life sciences, seeks to preserve the autonomy of its scientists as they pursue their research.

—Neil Thomas, AS ’76