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NORTHERN TODAY 11 FALL 2019 building to be constructed on campus in 40 years—and Kiesow said the technological capabilities it provides would’ve been unfathomable to people four decades ago. “Forty years ago, they couldn’t have even imagined what students are doing today,” said Kiesow, who also serves as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. And Kiesow envisions that, in years to come, the Jewett Regional Science Education Center could result in even more growth in cutting-edge programming and technology—and attract even more students. The Past Looking back 40 years, some of the technology used today in terms of genetics was not even created yet. For instance, Kiesow said, the process of denaturing DNA—targeting a strand and then recopying it—was established in the late 1980s/early 1990s. “That really opened up the doors of understanding how DNA works,” Kiesow said. Even 15 years ago, Northern science faculty and students were using fruit flies for genetic transmission—an old-school method used since the 1800s. While it remains important for students to learn those methods, Kiesow said they’ve now advanced to add in bioinformatics to all classroom experiences, using computer technology. “It’s really hard to encapsulate how much has changed even in the last 15 years,” Kiesow said. Over the years, teaching progressed toward more collaboration and use of online resources such as D2L, Northern’s distance education portal. Professors could upload their PowerPoint lectures and utilize YouTube video and other up-and-coming technology. Very little lab equipment was up to date 15 years ago—most was from the 1960s, Kiesow said. Northern spent time over the course of 10 years getting new microscopes and other biology and chemistry equipment. The Present Today, Northern has high-powered microscopes and high- powered chemistry equipment they’ve never had before, including a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. “Quite honestly, we have the capacity of what forensics labs may have as it relates to chemistry,” Kiesow said. “From the biology perspective, we have a well-equipped imaging lab.” In the new science center, faculty also now have what’s called lecture capture. Each classroom and lab is fitted with cameras, and instructors have a lapel pin that allows their audio to be collected, so they are free to move around as their lecture is recorded. Along with hands-free recording, their lectures can be made available to anybody in the world. Additionally, they have Zoom capabilities, an interactive video tool that allows for real- time engagement worldwide. “So we’ve really connected to not only an in-the-classroom scenario, but a worldly scenario,” Kiesow said. Student Numbers The new science center is already resulting in more biology and chemistry students, with full freshman classes this fall, and an unprecedented number of summer campus tours. Many university departments, as well as NSU Athletics, have said the building is a huge recruitment tool. “I foresee that our numbers are going to increase,” Kiesow said. Thirteen years ago, Northern had 78 biology majors—today, that has doubled and then some, to roughly 170. Kiesow expects it to double again, anticipating up to 300-400 biology majors in the next five to 10 years. “It’s already busy,” she said. “It’s going to get busier.” Summer Camps In the near future, Northern will offer its first-ever summer science camps for middle-schoolers, and also three science- and math-related teacher workshops. The middle-school camps would focus on ecology, biotechnology and macro and microscale imaging. For all camps and workshops, participants would stay on campus in the residence halls, free of cost. “The idea is to start a summer institute for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) education,” Kiesow said. “We really want the community of Aberdeen to benefit from this new building.” NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY | News