Facilities

Hoffberger Science Building
The college supports strong science programs by providing excellent space and facilities for teaching and research. In 1982, a new wing was added to the multidisciplinary Hoffberger Science Building to increase space available for dedicated teaching labs. This permits all full-time faculty to have their own research laboratories and provides additional space for core equipment rooms, etc. In 1995, the college spent $5.2 million renovating and modernizing the science building. Over the next 2-3 years, additional new and renovated space will be made available to the sciences in conjunction with the building of a new library. In addition to the Biological Sciences, the building houses the departments of Chemistry, Physics, Math & Computer Science, and Psychology.

Core Facilities and Major Equipment
The department is located within approximately 15,000 square feet of space in the Hoffberger Science Building. Faculty and students have routine access to many types of core facilities and major equipment. A radioisotopes lab, containing liquid scintillation and gamma counters, and a variety of equipment supporting molecular biology research, is located on the ground floor. This facility is approved for use of radioactivity by the institutional Radiation Safety Committee and under our site license administered by the State of Maryland, Department of the Environment. In adjacent space, two rooms house a small animal colony. Other rooms contain thermal cyclers, -80°C freezers, an ultracentrifuge and refrigerated high-speed centrifuges and rotors, sterile transfer hoods, a vacuum centrifuge system, UV/VIS scanning spectrophotometers, a variety of incubators and growth chambers, and a number of dissecting and compound microscopes with digital imaging systems. Reagent-grade water systems, dishwashing facilities, and a fully-equipped darkroom are also available. Many other types of equipment are housed in the Chemistry and Physics departments, and central glassware and chemicals stockrooms are located in both the Biology and Chemistry departments. Liquid nitrogen, dry ice and ice supplies are available in the building. A large greenhouse and potting shed is attached to buildling. In addition, faculty research labs have many types of specialized equipment supporting individual program needs.

Computer Resources
Several dedicated computer laboratories housing Windows PCs and Sun workstations are networked within the Hoffberger Science Building, and support is also provided for Macintosh computers. A private gift of $130,000 was used to build an advanced facility for molecular modeling studies in 1997, which is maintained by the college. Research labs, faculty offices, and "smart" classrooms are also networked. Teaching laboratories support wireless connections for laptops interfaced with laboratory equipment. All computers have internet access and science faculty and students use web-based resources extensively. The college library is continually making more resources available via on-line subscriptions to science journals and databases in recent years.