Dear friends of the college,

The last decade brought wonderfully interesting and important advances across a wide range of scientific disciplines, and it was the best decade ever for science in the Eberly College of Science.  The present decade, building on the scientific and technical advances of the last and on the growing national recognition of the social and economic value of advances in the sciences, looks like it should be even better.  In the College, the growth in activity and accomplishments of the faculty and students has been remarkable.  For example, support for research through grants and contracts brought in by the faculty, largely from federal sources, has grown 46% in the last four years.

This issue of Science Journal features the life sciences, an area of great excitement and astonishing advances over the last decade and a top priority for both the Eberly College of Science and the University.  We are working to increase the numbers of faculty members and activity in this area in response to high student demand and exploding research opportunities.

The Universityís vehicle for increasing activity in the life sciences is the Life Sciences Consortium, an organization that supports faculty, graduate students, and research and educational programs across six University Park colleges and the College of Medicine in Hershey.  The Life Sciences Consortium is an innovative and effective approach to strengthening the life sciences and fostering the collaborations that are increasingly necessary in all areas of science, and certainly in the life sciences.  The success of the Life Sciences Consortium has prompted Penn State to use the same model in three other interdisciplinary areasóenvironment, materials, and children, youth, and families.

Even with the present numbers of faculty, the increases in activity in the Eberly College of Science have left us bursting at the seams and in need of more and better facilities.  Fortunately, plans for our new chemistry building and a life-sciences building that will be shared with other colleges are well under way.  These two buildings will be physically linked to facilitate collaborations.  Together, the buildings provide not only badly needed new space, but also a physical focus for science and a statement about the future of science at Penn State.

With that physical focus as part of a bigger foundation of success for the college, we have an opportunity to make ourselves even stronger and more successful in the next decade.  The efforts of alumni and good friends of the college, as part of the Grand Destiny Campaign and other efforts, are helping to ensure the stability of that foundation for faculty, students, and programs.  In the years to come, I look forward to sharing with you the exciting results of these efforts within this remarkable college or ours.

Daniel J. Larson
Dean, Eberly College of Science

To Science Journal Spring 2001 Index

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This page was last updated on 24 January 2001

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