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University gets $1.6 million

BY CARLOS WALKUP
Staff Reporter

The university chemistry and biochemistry departments were awarded $1.6 million Wednesday from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to further undergraduate research.

The HHMI announced the recipients of 58 grants, ranging from $1.2 million to $2.2 million, for a total $91.1 million, said chemistry and biochemistry professor Harold White.

White, along with biology professor David Usher, wrote the university's application for the grant and submitted it last October.

"There were 191 universities that applied," White said. "We were one of the 58 that were selected."

White said he attributes this award to the university's successful undergraduate scientific research programs, some of which have been funded by similar grants.

"The University of Delaware has a great track record in undergraduate research," he said. "[The program] is one of the best in the country."

The HHMI grant will go towards a number of specific programs, Usher said, but most of the money will be used to further undergraduate research.

"There are 16 stipends that allow undergraduates to do research in faculty labs," Usher said.

The labs and equipment will provide a medium for publishable research.
Usher said the grant will also fund the Nucleus program, which is geared toward aiding minorities in the chemistry and bio-chemistry departments.

"This program is aimed at recruitment as well as retention of minorities in these fields," he said.

The grant will also fund programs involving the introduction of molecular biology techniques to local high schools, Usher said.

In this program, a "Virtual Van" will serve as a portable laboratory, carrying equipment that will allow students to study and analyze DNA fingerprinting.

The program involves a mock murder trial with clues based on mouse blood, Usher said.

Finally, the HHMI grant will be used to improve lab courses. The aim is to make the labs more in-depth and to introduce problem-based teaching techniques.

"We are trying to establish inquiry-based learning at the lab level," Usher said. "We want to make students think."

This is the second HHMI grant the university has received; the first was awarded from 1993 to 1997 for the amount of $1 million.