![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/05\/210629_Campus_0391_3000-900x600.webp\")
Donna Gendron <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Title<\/strong>: Custodian with Facility Services There\u2019s satisfaction in creating a clean space, says Donna Gendron, one of three custodians who work in Bonney Science Center. But what if you can\u2019t see what\u2019s clean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before moving to Bonney, Gendron worked in Dana Chemistry Hall, and by the time Dana emptied out in summer 2021, the building was well worn. \u201cYou\u2019d clean something, and you couldn\u2019t tell you cleaned it,\u201d she says. (Dana is now undergoing a full renovation, including a complete change of purpose, from chemistry to introductory science teaching.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was hard for me to keep up, to try and make it look nice, because everything was just so old. I did the best I could, plus it was just me over there. Over here, it\u2019s a bigger building, but I get help,\u201d she says, mentioning her custodial colleagues David Hanscom and Paul Butler. \u201cAs long as you keep up with it, everything stays nice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gendron has worked in custodial services her whole career. \u201cI’ve done cleaning all my life.\u201d Past jobs have been at hotels and the bygone naval base in Brunswick. Bates suits her just fine. \u201cI like it better, to be honest with you. Hotel work was a lot harder, making beds everyday.\u201d And sailors, she says, alluding to her work at the naval base, aren\u2019t the tidiest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She\u2019s been working at Bates for 10 years, and she plans to work at Bates until retiring. “It goes by fast,” she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gendron, Hanscom, and Butler team up on occasion for difficult tasks or just troubleshooting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hanscom, who works mostly on the first floor, brings the industrial scrubber and vacuum to the other floors to help out. \u201cI say, \u2018If you wanna do it, that\u2019s fine,\u2019\u201d says Gendron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd Paul\u2019s on the third floor, and we all get along well, and we try to be team players; if anyone needs help, all we do is text each other, and we go right down and help each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the various rooms and spaces in Bonney \u2014 labs, study rooms, classrooms, hallways, and offices \u2014 \u201cthe classrooms are busy and a little more challenging to do, especially in the winter time, because there\u2019s so much sand. But it\u2019s okay; there\u2019s three of us here, so it gets done. And the building\u2019s new, which makes it easier to clean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike the bunker vibe in Dana Chemistry, Bonney\u2019s interior is bright and open with lots of glass, which can be a pain to keep clean. Some folks said to Gendron, \u201cOh, all that glass….\u201d \u201cBut I like it,\u201d she says, the way it allows folks to see and feel the rattle and hum of all that teaching and research inside labs and classrooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plus, Bonney\u2019s residents aren\u2019t likely to smudge the glass with noses and hands against the glass the way dogs and little kids do, she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The big kids in Bonney \u2014 the students \u2014 she likes quite a bit. \u201cThey\u2019re good kids \u2014 very clean over here. If we need to go into a room, and there are a couple of kids in there, they\u2019re like, \u2018No, no, come on in,’ they don\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Title<\/strong>: Assistant Professor of Biology and Neuroscience Among other topics, Assistant Professor of Biology and Neuroscience Martin Kruse teaches neurobiology, a field that explores how neurons transmit signals throughout our bodies, telling us to smile, jog, or pet the dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During a class session in February, Kruse took time to explain to his students the various factors that affect \u201csignal propagation\u201d in the nervous system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Signal propagation describes how a signal, such as a radio wave, gets to its destination. (Fun fact: In theory, an FM radio signal from the 1980s carrying a song like Wham\u2019s \u201cWake Me Up Before You Go-Go\u201d has now propagated way past the constellation Ursa Major.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n In neurobiology, signal propagation \u201cbasically refers to how fast our brains operate and why,\u201d said Kruse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kruse appreciates how the classroom\u2019s setup \u2014 whiteboards, extensive projection equipment, and rollable chairs and tables \u2014 lets him pursue active-learning strategies, even ones as simple as taking a seat at a table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A few minutes after explaining the factors involved in signal propagation, Kruse did just that, joining a tabletop discussion with Annie Li \u201924 of Oslo, Norway, Chloe Huh \u201923 of Highwood, Ill., and Will Brown \u201923 of Newton Center, Mass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kruse listened to their responses to this prompt: \u201cWhat would be important properties of nerve cells to communicate in a fast and reliable way?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among other research interests, Kruse\u2019s lab in Bonney Science Center looks at how phosphoinositides regulate nerve cell activity, and in 2019 he received a grant of $270,000 to study these tiny but powerful lipids. The grant was through a network of 13 Maine educational and research institutions known as INBRE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine you\u2019re a Michelin chef, but your kitchen is suddenly spread out over two floors. Your cooking area is on one floor, and your prep station on another. Meanwhile, the service area is way down the hall. That\u2019s about how it was for many faculty who worked in Carnegie Science Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Bonney, Kruse and others have a great kitchen: lab space, a cell culture room, and electrophysiology suite close by. \u201cWe can do experiments that weren’t possible in our old lab space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To keep the culinary comparison going, Bonney\u2019s layout creates better communication among all the chefs de cuisine<\/em> and their chefs \u2014 that is, professors and their research students. \u201cWe\u2019re not separated any more. That means more communication and collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Title<\/strong>: Assistant in Instruction, Chemistry and Biochemistry Over the winter semester, Alyson Farrington taught seven lab sections for the popular introductory course \u201cChemistry Reactivity,\u201d each section comprising about 20 students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Bates, Farrington is one of several assistants in instruction, known as AIs. Depending on the department and the need, AIs are academic linchpins, whether providing teaching assistance, technology support, or, in the natural sciences, guiding lab sessions and making sure all the lab equipment is up to snuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to her labs, Farrington finds that a bit of laughter creates good chemistry. She keeps the mood light. After one session, she and George Hawkins \u201924 of Jacksonville, Fla., found humor in, well, she doesn\u2019t quite recall \u2014 which doesn\u2019t matter, really. \u201cGeorge is a funny person,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the lab, she moved from group to group. She stopped by to help Buey Grossman \u201925 of Ketchum, Idaho, and Aldair Desiderio \u201824 of Trenton, N.J. They had a question. Farrington replied with a question. \u201cI like to \u2018answer\u2019 a question with a question to help the students think through a problem themselves,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the intro course, Farrington works with students with an interest \u2014 and non-interest \u2014 in chemistry. She enjoys the challenge of teaching students who are \u201cmaybe a little hesitant or they’re immediately like, \u2018Chem\u2019s not my thing, but I sort of have to take this class.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, she hopes they all continue on in chemistry. But even if they don’t all become scientists, I hope they learn something and that they come out of chemistry actually enjoying it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n When that happens? \u201cIt\u2019s my favorite thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bonney also features a plethora of \u201cpeekaboo\u201d windows and glass doors, allowing any passerby to catch a glance of the people and workings in labs, classrooms, and study rooms. For students, \u201cit\u2019s probably pretty neat to see their peers in a lab and actually see them working,\u201d says Farrington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the fall, Farrington will move back to Dana Chemistry Hall, now undergoing a year-long renovation to focus on science teaching, with a goal of effectively welcoming new students to STEM fields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead, Farrington says the new and much-more-flexible teaching and lab spaces in Dana will allow faculty and staff to \u201cshake up\u201d the structure of introductory labs to include more individualized and projects-based labs. While teaching specific lab skills is critical, it\u2019s also valuable \u201cwithin those parameters\u201d to give students the opportunity \u201cto make their own decisions, especially as they advance,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The innovations that Bonney has allowed faculty and staff to usher in keeps Farrington fascinated with her work in the sciences. \u201cIt’s always evolving. There’s something fun and interesting and new happening all the time, whether it’s guest speakers, or somebody’s research is going well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s exhilarating, too, she says, to be surrounded by discovery, the feeling that \u201cwhen you develop it, then it\u2019s happening.\u201d Here\u2019s the fifth installment of our series that profiles, in images and words, each and every resident of Bates\u2019 newest academic building, Bonney Science Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":146085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,14,217,234,11009],"tags":[12283,11942],"class_list":["post-146082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-faculty-staff","category-science-technology","category-teaching-education","category-the-college","tag-bonney-places-and-faces","tag-bonney-science-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146082"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146277,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146082\/revisions\/146277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Joined Bates<\/strong>: 2013
Date Photographed<\/strong>: Feb. 4, 2022
She says<\/strong>: “If anyone needs help, all we do is text each other, and we go right down and help each other.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/05\/220204_Bonney_Donna_Gendron_Custodial_0022_3000.webp\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/05\/220204_Bonney_Donna_Gendron_Custodial_0040_3000.webp\")
\n\n\n\nMartin Kruse <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Joined Bates<\/strong>: 2017
Date Photographed<\/strong>: Feb. 4, 2022
He says<\/strong>: \u201cWe\u2019re not separated any more. That means more communication and collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/05\/220204_Bonney_Martin_Kruse_Classroom_0252.webp\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/05\/220204_Bonney_Martin_Kruse_Classroom_0270_3000.webp\")
\n\n\n\nAlyson Farrington <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Joined Bates<\/strong>: 2008
Date Photographed<\/strong>: Feb. 8, 2022
She says<\/strong>: \u201cEven if they don’t all become scientists, I hope they come out of chemistry actually enjoying it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/05\/220208_Bonney_Alyson_Farrington_Lab_0248_3000.webp\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2022\/05\/220208_Bonney_Alyson_Farrington_Lab_0388_3000.webp\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"