California State University, NorthridgeCalifornia State University, Northridge
July 17, 1996
Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler or
Stacy Peterson,
(818) 677-2130
cchandler@exec.csun.edu
The funding will allow the university's Department of Physics and Astronomy to upgrade its Theoretical and Experimental Condensed Matter Physics laboratories.
"We're very elated," said Dr. Robert Romagnoli, department chair. "We will be the only facility in the world that will be capable of studying micelles using both time-resolved fluorescence and electron spin resonance techniques."
A time-resolved fluorescence quenching apparatus will be purchased for the Experimental Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory where it will be used to understand the fundamental structure and behavior of the biological membrane. Understanding the fundamental structure and behavior of the biological membrane is at the heart of such areas as developmental biology and causes of cancer.
The Theoretical Laboratory will receive three high-speed computer work stations for use in conducting fundamental and applied research through theory, modeling, simulation, visualization and computation.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy has 62 physics majors: 32 of these are undergraduates and 30 are at the graduate level. Over the past few years the department has received external funding of over $3.5 million for research which has resulted in over 114 journal publications, 15 of them co-authored by students.
The department is one of five in Northridge's College of Science and Mathematics. The other departments are biology, chemistry, geological sciences and mathematics. There are currently 1,781 majors in the college, 220 of whom are graduate students. Currently, the college has more than seven million dollars in contract and grant extramural support.
The W.M. Keck Foundation, one of the nation's largest foundations in terms of annual grants, was established in 1954 by the late William M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company, who also created in his will the W.M. Keck Trust for the benefit of the foundation. The Foundation's primary focus is on grants to universities and colleges throughout he United States, with particular emphasis in the fields of science, engineering, and medical research. It also provides limited support, focused on programs serving Southern California, in the areas of community services, health care, precollegiate education, and the arts.
For more information contact Millie Loeb, director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, at (818) 677-2150.