By: Cameron Harris
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — On Friday Feb. 7 AUM Chancellor Dr. Carl Stockton gave a speech thanking all the AUM and Auburn University trustees that helped him fulfill the vision of creating a new science and technology building, a project Chancellor Stockton says he started putting in motion almost a decade ago when he first arrived at AUM.
In his speech, Stockton highlighted his desire for the state-of-the-art facility to not only be utilized by AUM students and faculty, but also to help with K-12 STEM instruction and use the facilities to partner with Auburn University to assist in any research they may need help with.
The $36 million price tag wasn’t something to scoff at. “The biggest obstacle was finding funding,” said Stockton. In a later interview, Stockton said the funding came mostly from donations, public school funds and grants from the legislature.
The 57,000-square foot Science Lab Complex will have four “active learning” classrooms, 12 teaching labs and two state of the art research labs in addition to a computer lab.
In an interview with WSFA, Stockton gave an inside look into one of the labs in the new facility and explained the main goal of the science and technology building. Stockton said, “We wanted to provide students with state-of-the-art equipment and technology so when they go out into the workforce, they are ready to start and help our community.”
On Friday after the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, over 100 attendees were given a tour of the facility and some of its classrooms and labs. Dr. Leaman, who is the Dean of the College of Sciences and oversaw the buildings’ funding and design, led my tour. Leaman went to several rooms and gave us a rundown of a few of the labs that would be utilized in the facility.
We first took a look at the computer lab which is the epicenter of the new AI research that AUM will be conducting thanks to a $400,000 NSF grant secured by Olcay Kursun, Assistant Professor for Computer Science and Computer Information Systems. The AI grant will be used to help with staff training, teaching faculty how to apply AI to assist with research problems, how to incorporate AI into teaching and working with AI as a tool instead of a crutch or a “cheat code” for students to use.
Leaman then went into a molecular lab and a biology lab which were similar to your standard science labs in a university except with beautiful modern equipment that makes you feel like you’re in a fancy one that could be used for a movie. Leaman went on to show the Biochemistry lab, which is unique because it is made specifically for chemical reactions that could be too dangerous for a standard lab that uses basic equipment. It has two big, vented hoods covered with glass along the wall for more dangerous reactions and there are four mini vented hoods at each of the tables for less dangerous reactions that can be done right at the desk.
The last lab we were shown was one of the state-of-the-art research labs, which are primarily being used for grant-based biomedical research. Leman is especially proud of these referring to them as “as good as anywhere I’ve been, and I’ve been to lots of places.”
While taking a look at the research lab, I was able to speak to FNU Shivakant an Assistant professor for Biology and Environmental Science. He expressed his excitement for the new building saying the research lab was as good as the one he previously used when he worked at the University of Michigan.
Shivakant is studying cancer research specifically, “how cancer cells use nutrients to grow and is there a way to modify nutrients in our body to help battle cancer.” Shivikant is primarily studying Glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Shivikant hopes that his research can make a difference in the world by expressing his desire to help fight brain cancer since it is a disease that affects so many.
After the tour I talked with Dr. Leaman about what the building not only means to him but to AUM and the science department. Leaman talked about the different studies the new building would be used for, highlighting areas such as “infectious diseases, biofuel research and bioprospecting.” He talked about the future of the building and how he wanted it to be used to help educate high school teachers on using more advanced science methods and technologies.
The new building is an exciting addition to AUM, especially for the Science Department. This building is also important to future medical research that could not only affect the community locally, but also on a much larger scale.
