News Release
September 2005
Bethlehem, Pa., September 29, 2005—Moravian College has received a grant from
Research Corporation to establish a program to loan eight spectrometers, and has donated
nine laptop computers to use with the spectrometers, to local high school science departments.
Moravian will implement the loan program as part of its affiliation with the Math & Science
Partnership of Greater Philadelphia, a consortium established by a grant from the National
Science Foundation two years ago.
The goal of the Research Corporation grant is to provide high school science teachers
and their students with state-of-the-art light detection for biology, chemistry, and
physics experiments, and to train teachers in the use of the equipment in the classroom.
The spectrometers, manufactured by Ocean Optics, use the same CCD technology that makes
digital cameras possible. Their size and price make it possible to transport multiple
setups to local high schools where they can be used for a week before return to the College.
During this academic year three Moravian science professors will serve as the facilitators
of the loan program: Carl Salter, associate professor of chemistry, Kelly Krieble, assistant
professor of physics, and Chris Jones, assistant professor of biology. Moravian College
will coordinate the use of, and private maintenance for the equipment and software for
the laptops, and assist in instruction at local high schools.
The program will provide schools with the opportunity for conducting
special experiments using advance techniques that enhance or extend standard investigations.
These advance spectrometers will also be available to individual high school students
involved in science fair projects. “Most of what we know about the physical universe comes from studying
the interaction of light with matter – the area of science called spectroscopy,” says
Salter, “Spectroscopy is an important scientific tool, and these instruments will
allow high school science students to apply modern spectroscopy in their physics, chemistry,
and biology classes.”
The Math and Science Partnership of Greater Philadelphia consists
of 13 colleges and universities, 46 public school districts, and several other non-profit
organizations (like the DaVinci Science Center). It was established by a grant of more
than $12 million from the National Science Foundation in 2003. Its mission is to improve
student access and performance in higher math and science classes, raise the quality,
quantity, and diversity of teachers, and to research how to best achieve its goals.
It accomplishes its aims in part by fostering environments in which secondary math
and science teachers can work with college and university faculty. MSPGP is headquartered
at LaSalle University in Philadelphia under principal investigator and project director
Joseph Merlino. Moravian College’s representatives on the consortium are Frank
Kuserk, professor of biology and Sandra Fluck, professor of education.
Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal
arts college located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its foundations to 1742, it
is recognized as America’s
sixth oldest college. Visit the website at www.moravian.edu.
