Technology Access Fees Database

Dr. Frank C. Bailey

gmurphy@mtsu.edu

Dr. George Murphy

Biology

N/A

Davis Science Building 116

New Technology

N/A

The instrumentation requested would directly impact the educational experience of over 450 students per year, and would be fundamental in establishing additional courses related to environmental biology. This instrumentation would provide hands-on experience in the use and application of a variety of measurement systems currently unavailable in the Biology Department. The requested equipment has been carefully chosen to integrate with the limited resourcescurrently available into a student orientated, highly interactive technology-based laboratory teaching environment. The application of advanced instrumentation in the laboratory is critical to fostering rapid and accurate student assimilation of complex biological concepts and processes and student preparation to enter the science-based workforce.Included in this request are major instruments that would significantly enhance student exposure to state-of-the-art techniques in laboratory measurement and analysis. The requested HPLC system will replace a fifteen-plus year old system that currently is nonfunctional, primarily due to limitations in parts availability and technical support. There is currently not a GC-MS system available for everyday use in Biology Department courses. Both the HPLC and GC-MS systems would be applicable to a wide range of current and developing upper division courses in applied biology. The range of applications would include cellular and whole animal as well as plant physiology and microbiology. GC-MS systems are commonly used in government, university, a nd commercial biotechnology and environmental laboratories for the identification of unknown chemicals. The experience gained in the use of the requested equipment would provide our graduates with a competitive advantage in the job market or when seeking admission to graduate schools. Current and proposed courses and the numbers of students impacted would include: Students impacted/year Biology 201 Introduction to the Medical Laboratory 15 Biology 321 Environmental Microbiology 24 Biology 411 General Physiology 100 Biology 421 Cell and Molecular Biology 62 Biology 430 Immunology 45 Biology 450/550 Plant Physiology 24 Biology 455/555 Biotechnology 30 Biology 457/557 Principals of Toxicology 24 Biology 633 Principals of Physiology 16 Biology 639 Advanced Cell and Molecular Biology 21 Biology 459/659 Environmental Toxicology 24 Proposed courses: Environmental Physiology, Environmental Microbiology 24/24 Microbial Physiology 24 Total: 457 Overall, this proposal reflects a highly flexible, cost-effective approach to providing advanced instrumentation and technology-based teaching/learning resources to a large number of students.