The College of Science has awarded Microbiology instructors Linda Bruslind and Allison Evans an Equity Project Grant of $6,000 to improve accessibility in the Department of Microbiology teaching labs.

The funds will be used to purchase a height-adjustable table to allow students using wheelchairs to comfortably use microscopes as the fixed lab benches are typically too high for wheelchair users to see into the microscopes. The table will be able to be lowered to a height that allows wheelchair users to have the same experience with microscopes that other students have in the lab.

Dr. Bruslind and Dr. Evans will also purchase a microscope with an attached camera and tablet to provide visually impaired students with enlarged images to assist them in visualizing microbes. The tablet will also aid students with color vision deficiency, as the color profiles of images can be changed to help students to distinguish between gram-positive and gram-negative cells.

This equipment will be available to the MB 230 labs (Core Education) and to all the Microbiology labs that serve science majors.