Science building will benefit students

I am compelled to respond to your staff editorial that dismisses the new multi-disciplinary science building as "not that important" because students' needs should take priority over construction projects ("Science building not that important," Oct. 18).\nThe proposed new building has everything to do with the quality of education and the needs of students. Without advanced laboratory facilities, our students and faculty in the sciences will find themselves reinventing the 20th century while our peer institutions discover the 21st century. We are in the midst of a modern scientific revolution in understanding biomolecular processes, spanning the analytical spectrum from watching enzymes function one molecule at a time to unraveling the environmental context of human cognition.\nOur psychology department is nationally distinguished, and our biology department is rising rapidly in national stature. Hiring in both these departments is curtailed by the lack of availability of research space suitable for the highest stringency investigations. The proposed building will allow certain types of experimental endeavors and precise measurements to be done for the first time on this campus. \nWill the building help IU attract and retain visionary new faculty in the sciences? Yes -- the building is designed to pull together and strengthen collaborative investigations that fall along the boundaries of traditional disciplines where the discovery domains of the future lay. \nWill the building help IU-Bloomington rise in academic standing and enhance the education of students? Most definitely yes -- our students will learn in partnership with innovative researchers and will have increased opportunities to participate in team-based investigations. \nThe multi-disciplinary science building is a bold step forward for both the College of Arts and Sciences and the Bloomington campus.