Professor Ed Lattman, Principal Research Scientist at the Hauptman-Woodward Institute; Professor of Structural Biology & Materials Design and Innovation at the University of Buffalo (SUNY)

Of Course, an STC is Only a Means to An End, Which Is (Hopefully) Science

NSF Science and Technology Centers are large, prestigious awards intended to enable transformative research that cannot readily be carried out by individual investigators. STCs usually involve a set of institutions. Using as an example an individual STC – Biology with X-ray Lasers or BioXFEL – this colloquium will discuss both the science behind the Center, and a variety of non-research related benefits and burdens associated with it. These include the capacity to create significant and impactful education programs. It will also touch upon what is needed – in addition to good luck – to gain such an award and to ensure its renewal.