Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Anonymous Donor’s Gift Drives $1 Million Science Equipment Excellence Fund

Wednesday, February 4, 2015, By News Staff
Share
givingResearch and Creative
Chemistry faculty and staff, including lab supervisor Gary Bonomo, far left, agree the new equipment fosters a more research-intensive environment.

Chemistry faculty and staff, including lab supervisor Gary Bonomo, far left, agree the new equipment fosters a more research-intensive environment.

Students and faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences are benefiting from a new Science Equipment Excellence Fund (SEEF) that is modernizing the college’s science-teaching instrumentation and enhancing the overall learning experience of students.

Established last fall by an anonymous donor, and cultivated by Dean Karin Ruhlandt, the fund has continued to generate interest and financial support from several members of the University’s Board of Trustees, with a number of donations coming in recent months.

Today, the fund has received nearly $1 million in donations.

“The Science Equipment Excellence Fund reflects my commitment to building an unrivaled liberal arts college at Syracuse University,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “To afford our students a distinctive, broad and deep education means equipping them with the right tools and experiences.”

Ruhlandt says the fund helps promote scientific literacy, which is central to a liberal arts education, regardless of one’s major or career path. A distinguished professor of chemistry, Ruhlandt has been a passionate advocate for the fund, which is benefiting the departments of biology, chemistry, Earth sciences and physics and the Forensics Institute of National Security Sciences. Among the new equipment already purchased through the fund are spectrometers, centrifuges, dry ovens, a differential scanning calorimeter, microscopes, stereomicroscopes, digital cameras, incubator shakers, motion detectors and magnetic field sensors.

Chemistry professor Tara Kahan with one of the department's new spectrometers.

Chemistry professor Tara Kahan with one of the department’s new spectrometers.

“Students of all academic backgrounds will be able to work with the same equipment found in private industry. The opportunity for collaboration between various disciplines and between students and professors is virtually unprecedented,” Ruhlandt says.

Chemistry is the first academic unit to take advantage of the SEEF, having purchased and installed more than $200,000 of instrumentation. Under the supervision of professors Tara Kahan and Mathew Maye, the department has integrated the equipment into existing and newly prepared lab experiments, with positive results.

“Already, undergraduates have gotten lots of hands-on time with the equipment,” says Kahan, an assistant professor specializing in physical chemistry, spectroscopy and environmental and atmospheric chemistry. “Using research-grade instruments makes it easier for students to see how their studies may pay off in the future, in academia or industry or both.”

Kahan says the fund has “completely transformed” Syracuse’s physical and analytical chemistry courses, which are taken by undergraduates in both Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Computer Science, as part of their core curriculum requirements.

Chancellor Syverud and Dean Ruhlandt are working to secure additional gifts for the SEEF in the months ahead.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Tax Expert Available for Supreme Court Case
    Wednesday, December 6, 2023, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Streaming Wars: Expert Believes Bundle Discussions Could Lead to Acquisitions
    Wednesday, December 6, 2023, By Christopher Munoz
  • Focus Group Participants Needed: Transgender and Transitioning in the Workplace
    Wednesday, December 6, 2023, By News Staff
  • In Memoriam: Phil Quartararo ’77
    Wednesday, December 6, 2023, By Genaro Armas
  • CritQuant: School of Education Faculty and Students Join a Movement to Disrupt Traditional Research Methods
    Wednesday, December 6, 2023, By Martin Walls

More In STEM

Rachel Steinhardt Awarded NSF Grant to Study Brain Chemistry

Rachel Steinhardt, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, has been awarded a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation for her project, Chemical Tools for Bio-Orthogonal Neuromodulation. One of the most perplexing challenges in neuroscience is how to explain…

$3M Awarded to Hydronic Shell Technologies to Pilot New Building Technology in Syracuse

The Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) is pleased to announce that Hydronic Shell Technologies is the recipient of a $3 million grant from the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge. A nationwide competition administered by Enterprise Community…

Bedrock of Success: Female Earth and Environmental Sciences Scholars Carry on a Legacy of Mentorship

In the College of Arts and Sciences’ (A&S) Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES), women have served as leaders and mentors dating back to the early 1980s, a time when the field was predominantly comprised of men. The legacy of…

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Highlights Leadership, Community and Empowerment

Karen Herrera ’24 knows all too well how much work goes into running a student organization. Having started as the events coordinator for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) at Syracuse University, she now serves as the current co-president,…

Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Receives Legend Award From the Deep Foundations Institute

The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) recognized Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Sam Clemence as a recipient of a DFI Legends Award on Nov. 2. This award was established to honor practitioners that have made significant contributions and advancements to the…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.