September 2, 2003
VITERBO RECEIVES $125,927 GRANT FROM NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
LA CROSSE, Wis.—Viterbo University was recently awarded a $125,927 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the purchase of state-of-the art equipment for scientific research.
Written by Jennifer Sadowski and Glena Temple, the grant allows for the purchase of four large and two small growth chambers, each fully programmable for time, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide. The new chambers will enable students and their faculty mentors to control and measure environmental factors during genetic and other experiments with insects and plants.
"These new growth chambers will allow faculty and undergraduates to perform top-notch research in our new building (the Center for Ethics, Science, and Technology)," said Sadowski.
"With no available growth chambers on campus nor in the city, we had been borrowing space in a remote greenhouse, which was very limiting for research," added Temple.
Many NSF grants pay for half the cost of a project, and the institution pays for the other half. This grant, given through the Division of Biological Infrastructure's Major Research Instrumentation program, requires no university match. About a third of the 143 proposals submitted to the program this year were funded.
The National Science Foundation, located in Arlington, Va., is an independent agency of the U.S. government that promotes engineering and science through programs that invest more than $3.3 billion annually in almost 20,000 education and research projects. The NSF’s mission is to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense.