Siena College celebrated the end of its new high-tech science center’s first semester debut with a dedication ceremony.
Stewart’s Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Center, or the SAInT Center, officially opened Thursday, March 12, after a semester test run from students. The Center, with high-tech equipment often reserved for students completing a Master’s thesis or a PhD, is open to any students, undergraduate or otherwise.
“This Center, I think will close the gap between theory, education would get not just a job, but a meaningful job,” said Susan Dake, whose family owns the Stewart’s Shops franchise. She also announced that, on top of being a donor for the SAInT Center, the Dakes are donating another $250,000 to Siena College.
Already, students have benefited from the new instruments. Some equipment includes a nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which analyzes aspects of organic compounds, an infrared spectrometer, used in forensic analysis, and a MALDI Mass Spectrometer, an imaging system for studying tissue.
All are pieces of equipment that can be found in Global Foundries, Albany Medical Center and NASA programs. Jakob Hebert, a senior studying biological chemistry, said that he recently applied to Albany Molecular Research, Inc. as a medicinal chemist for pharmaceutical research. He said the job description listed off working with instruments he was already familiar with in the Center.
The interviewer for the position made a point to mention how impressed she was with the research he had already done, Hebert said. “Undoubtedly, I would not have stood out among my peers if not for the research experiences that the SAInT Center has allowed me to do,” he said.
Kristopher Kolonko, Center Director, said that over 300 students used Center equipment in its first operational semester. While some faculty members have already revised curriculum to now include using the new equipment, Kolonko said he expects to see more faculty do the same in semesters to come.
Siena students have already expressed their excitement in being able to use what they learned in classes, as well. Rather than simply taking notes, the students can now use their studies in a real-life context.
“There’s no point in just learning things from a lecture if you’re not going to use it later on,” said Manuel Pena, class of 2017. “I think it’s just a really good experience that I can also see the things I’ve seen during class applied with these instruments.”
Kolonko also said that, as the project was being developed, faculty and staff sat down to discuss what instruments would best serve the students in the Center. Over the summer, many Siena students came to be trained on the new equipment. As well, members of Global Foundries have said they were amazed to see equipment used at Global Foundries readily available for undergraduate students.
Mary Tabatneck, class of 2017, said that she has been working on research studying human cancer. Since she expects to go into pediatric surgery, the equipment gives her a head start on the research she would have to do as a surgical resident.
“Being able to use the infrared spectrometer is such an awesome experience, because it’s something that I’d likely be using in the future,” Tabatneck said. “This is a really great opportunity to be able to have access to this equipment.”
