For Faculty
How can the Discovery Lab support you to empower students to become confident and capable professionals; equipped with the technical, analytical, and durable skills to engage in cross-disciplinary, collaborative, and applied research.
Students are central to the Discovery Lab – decision–making, programming, and lab management. Faculty and staff’s role is to provide support, feedback, and guidance, supporting students to foster their sense of ownership and leadership.
Host a Program
There are an array of ways faculty and staff can engage with the Discovery Lab ranging from shorter duration activities to longer duration and more collaborative programs. See below for more information about how you can engage.
Discovery Lab Tours / Instrument Overviews: Do you want to provide an opportunity for your students to learn more about research opportunities on campus and/or get an overview of an instrument linked to content/technics you are reviewing in your course?
We are happy to provide an opportunity for your students to tour the Discovery Lab and learn more about our instruments.
Reserve Space and Equipment for a Hands-on Activity: Do you need a larger space and/or access to equipment to help facilitate a hands-on activity for an existing course?
The Discovery Lab can provide space, consumables, and equipment that you can utilize for a hands-on activity. We are also happy to work with you to design new activities that take full advantage of the Discovery Lab’s instruments and expertise.
Utilize Discovery Lab Instruments and Equipment to Support Course Projects: Do students in your course develop and implement their own semester long course projects?
The Discovery Lab can provide access to and training on instruments/equipment that students could utilize in their course projects.
Sponsor a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE): Do you have an existing CURE or plans to develop a new CURE that could utilize the Discovery Lab’s instruments/equipment?
The Discovery Lab can provide access to advanced instrumentation and a collaborative learning environments that you can utilize as part of a course that engage students in authentic research activities that investigates a question or problem with unknown answers and real-world relevance.
Connect Student Researchers to Discovery Lab Instruments & Equipment: Do you have students or a student that work with you that want to explore their own questions linked to what they have been working on, but you don’t have access to instruments/equipment needed to support that exploration?
The Discovery Lab can host individual students and small student project teams - providing access to the Lab’s Technical Spaces, consumables, and instruments. Students work with Peer Leaders and members of the Discovery Lab Leadership Team to characterize their ideas and transform them into reality.
Encourage your students to learn more about Independent Research, Prototyping, or Experimentation opportunities with the Discovery Lab.
Facilitate a Short-term Skill Development Workshop: Are you interested in offering a short-term skill development workshop for community members / industry representatives?
The Discovery Lab can provide access to advanced instrumentation and a collaborative space you can utilize as part of your planned workshop.
We can support your program if . . .
- The program provides opportunities for students to engage in / direct original research linked to pressing scientific and societal challenges.
- You are interested in identifying ways that your existing classes can leverage the Discovery Lab’s instruments and providing opportunities for students to gain valuable hands-on experience preparing samples, running analyses, and interpreting results.
- Your program will appropriately utilize the Discovery Lab's instruments and equipment.
- There is not a conflict with an already scheduled program.
- Your program does not exceed our capacity (overall or within the specific Technical Space being used).
- Your program has been scheduled with sufficient notice (at least two weeks or more depending upon the details of the program.
Host a Program in the Discovery Lab
Interested in learning more? Want to host your program in the Discovery Lab?
FAQs for Engaging with the Discovery Lab
Yes, you and your class are welcome to use any of the Technical Spaces within the Discovery Lab, subject to availability and approval. Please complete our interest form and reach out to us as soon as possible to describe your needs and we’ll do our best to help. The more time we have to review and engage with you to plan, the more time we have to ensure your requested Technical Space and needs can be met.
Yes! The Discovery Lab offers instructional content for the majority of the instruments and equipment in the Lab’s technical spaces (e.g. computational analytic machines, 3D printers, spectrometers, etc.). These modules may be used by instructors and/or students freely without approval.
As a simple answer, no. However, the Discovery Lab Team (faculty/staff and Peer Leaders) can:
- Train you and/or any TAs that will be working with you beforehand on any instruments and equipment you plan to use.
- Be available in a limited capacity during your class to ensure you have the equipment and materials needed and oversee safety.
If classes are scheduled well in-advance (prior to the start of the semester), the Discovery Lab Team can support adapting established lab activities to emphasize practical and job ready skills for students.
The instructor and/or TA team will need to come into the Discovery Lab beforehand to be trained by our management team on the relevant instruments. This will allow the instructors/TAs to give demos and be the first source of support. Our Team is available to help, though it’s not possible to provide complete instructional development and delivery for all of the classes utilizing the Discovery Lab.