ND LIGHTS— Notre Dame Laboratory Instrumentation Giving Hope To Students — recently completed its first year of collecting and sending donated laboratory equipment to limited–resource schools across the country, mostly in the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program. The equipment comes complete with instructions and materials for conducting high school classroom experiments. Each ACE teacher received individualized training during their summer on campus to prepare them to use the equipment. The program is a collaboration between the College of Science, the Office of Sustainability, and Procurement Services.
Faculty members donated some $275,000 worth of equipment that went to ACE schools and colleges. VWR, the global distributor of scientific supplies that is Notre Dame’s preferred vendor, has donated the materials. The company’s sales representative, Renee Wedel, and on–site coordinator, Dan Tuisaula, have offices in the Jordan Hall of Science and have been extremely helpful. Michelle Joyce of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who administers the program, says the support from VWR is incredible and makes the equipment immediately useful for teachers. She expects to expand the program to local high schools this year.