New campus building pulses scientific opportunity
By Kyle A. Porter, October 2009
Editor-in-chief
“It surpasses our wildest dreams,” says Hank Mancini, Ph.D. and science division chair, of the new Life Sciences Building at PVCC that opened this semester.
Eight labs are located on the first floor. The LS building has an L-shaped footprint suggested by architects to follow sustainable design practices to limit consumption of non-renewable energy and materials. Bamboo doors and woodwork, high-recycle-content carpet and rainwater collection and storage with water features are among the environmentally friendly aspects of the new lab and classroom facility.
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New Life Science Building affords PVCC's Science Division the chance to double course offerings. (Photo by GingerHoil) |
The second floor has seven lecture classrooms for biology and other department courses, including fire science. Also on the second floor are faculty offices and a conference room. Adjunct faculty has office space as well, including room to conduct meetings with students or colleagues. Features like these are the product of faculty input during the planning and design stage, says Mancini.
Ceiling cameras project instructor demonstrations onto large screens for all students to view. In microbiology, microscope slides and bacteria culture plates can be projected according to Debra Adair, Ph.D. and PVCC microbiology instructor.
Incubators and refrigeration are incorporated into the labs as well as specimens and collections used by faculty and students.
Cadaver storage and access was part of the planning for the new building for use in anatomy and physiology labs. Students in health-related fields: nursing, physician assistants, pre-med and others, will benefit from the availability of cadavers in their studies, says Jeffrey Lace, PVCC anatomy and physiology faculty.
Biotechnology courses will be added to PVCC’s biology curriculum for fall 2010, Adair says.
The college is in discussions with T Gen and other potential partners in the biotech field. The new building makes these developments possible, says Mancini.
Student engagement areas—or pods—are an eye-catching feature of the new architecture on campus. The various-sized spaces are arrayed on the east side of the LS on both levels of the building. The pods are covered by an expansive overhang, but open to the outside air and views to the McDowell Mountains. Students from any department may convene with instructors, in study groups or alone to work, read and relax.
Paul Barker and Daniel Hannon, pre-med students at PVCC, use the tables and chalkboards in one of the pods to work out biology assignments and prepare for class.
“The new building really stands out on campus,” Hannon says. |
