science-stem-lab

How to create the STEM building of the future


CSU details 3 big steps to future-proofing an integral science building

science-stem-labPreparing students for careers in (STEM) is one of the biggest challenges facing universities today, and one way faculty and administration are attempting to continue to meet the needs of their students for years to come is by designing future-proof STEM education buildings.

At Clayton State University, a public university in Morrow, Georgia, planning a new science building, which will provide more lab space for undergraduate research and new lab equipment to prepare students for STEM careers, meant making sure the site would be equipped to handle the needs of future students.

According to Natural Sciences Department Chair Dr. Michelle Furlong, the new science building will better prepare students to enter the workforce by allowing them to gain hands-on experience operating equipment such as electron microscopes and a mass spectrometer and gas chromatograph.

Vice President for Information Technology and Services Bill Gruszka said his biggest concern is not whether the building will be well-equipped for today’s students, but that it will be able to serve the needs of future students, who may not even be thinking about their college education yet.

“The biggest thing you have to figure out is where technology is going to be in four years,” Gruszka said. “You can’t plan for today; you have to plan for then.”

Step 1: Don’t skimp on the network

Wanting to remain at the “cutting-edge of STEM education,” Clayton State University explained that a strong network infrastructure was at the top of the list of priorities for the new building, in addition to more laboratory space and new equipment.

The new building has the capacity to support up to three wireless devices for every student, which will be achieved through the use of 802.11ac wireless access points – a new, faster standard for wireless networking.

The new building will be equipped with a new wireless network infrastructure, which will complement the wired infrastructure–used to connect desktop computers and laboratory equipment to the school’s servers–to ensure undergraduate laboratories and classrooms always have a strong internet connection.

According to Gruszka, the new network infrastructure is also flexible, meaning it can be expanded upon to add a larger network capacity in the future if needed.

(Next page: Steps 2-3)

Step 2: Get equipment that the industry is actually using

The new STEM building will also bring new lab equipment to classrooms and undergraduate laboratories in an effort to prepare students in STEM majors for the workforce.

Natural Sciences Department Chair Dr. Michelle Furlong said Clayton State University received $2.9 million in grants from the state of Georgia to equip the building with furniture, fixtures and laboratory equipment that she explained will help enable faculty to deliver a better education experience to their students.

For example, Furlong said the college would be purchasing an electron microscope, which will allow students to examine the three-dimensional structure of a cell. Improvements like these better prepare students entering STEM fields as more employers are seeking students who have applied their STEM education to real life challenges, according to Furlong.

She also hopes the new equipment such as a Mass spectrometer and Gas Chromatograph, which can be used to expand students’ knowledge in analytical chemistry, will be a catalyst for growth in Clayton State’s STEM programs by allowing them to offer new courses in areas such as forensic science.

Each classroom will also be equipped with updated projectors, cameras and computer equipment, which are already being used in the classroom by instructors, and will allow instructors to focus on teaching, not technology, when transitioning to the new building, said Gruszka.

“We have provided faculty with full presentation equipment,” Gruszka said. “It is fairly standardized, which makes them be able to be more concerned with teaching. Most of the magic in the new building will be in the classroom. I think we have provided the technology infrastructure for the magic to happen.”

Step 3: Build for faculty-student collaboration

In total, the new building will feature 16 new laboratories, with half being used for teaching and the other half being used for undergraduate research.

According to Furlong, the new laboratories are essential to continuing the success of the STEM programs at Clayton State University, whose growth has been limited by the lack of resources and equipment available to them.

“We are out of room to grow our programs because the students have to take so many lab classes, and our facilities are overloaded,” Furlong said. “The new teaching labs will allow us to not hit the maximum number of hours available per lab so quickly.”

Network infrastructure and new lab equipment mean nothing, however, without a faculty committed to bringing the best education experience possible to their students, explained Furlong, which is something she wanted to make sure continued in their new space.

“The innovative laboratory teaching spaces in this building will expand our support of undergraduate research projects where faculty and students work side-by-side in the learning and exploration process,” Clayton State University President, Dr. Thomas Hynes said.

To continue their commitment to their students, the administrators and faculty, who were involved with planning the new Clayton State University science building, made sure to include student meeting spaces and study areas in close proximity to the offices of faculty members and undergraduate laboratories.

“Learning goes beyond the classroom. It happens spontaneously, and we want to be a part of that, she said. “It is important to us; we’re not a research university. We hold long office hours and want to continue to interact with the students.”

Once complete, the science facility will be 64,000 square feet spread over three stories, and also housing a future vivarium, mechanical penthouse and basement, and loading dock, according to a statement released by Clayton State and McCarthy Building Companies.

The new building is set to open in June 2015, and expected to hold its first classes during 2015’s fall semester.

Peter Sclafani is an education freelance writer for eCampus News.

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