Here鈥檚 the fifth installment of our series that profiles, in images and words, each and every resident of 乐播传媒鈥� newest academic building, Bonney Science Center, as they begin to engage with their wondrous new home and the students they work with. This week鈥檚 profiles feature:
- Donna Gendron, a Facility Services custodian who enjoys being part of a clean team.
- Martin Kruse, an assistant professor of biology and neuroscience who signals his approval of Bonney’s classrooms and labs.
- Alyson Farrington, an assistant in instruction in chemistry and biochemistry who hopes to instill a love 鈥� or at least a like 鈥� of chemistry.
Donna Gendron
Title: Custodian with Facility Services
Joined 乐播传媒: 2013
Date Photographed: Feb. 4, 2022
She says: “If anyone needs help, all we do is text each other, and we go right down and help each other.”
There鈥檚 satisfaction in creating a clean space, says Donna Gendron, one of three custodians who work in Bonney Science Center. But what if you can鈥檛 see what鈥檚 clean?
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. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 clean something, and you couldn鈥檛 tell you cleaned it,鈥� she says. (Dana is now undergoing a full renovation, including a complete change of purpose, from chemistry to introductory science teaching.)
鈥淚t 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鈥檚 a bigger building, but I get help,鈥� she says, mentioning her custodial colleagues David Hanscom and Paul Butler. 鈥淎s long as you keep up with it, everything stays nice.鈥�
Gendron has worked in custodial services her whole career. 鈥淚’ve done cleaning all my life.鈥� Past jobs have been at hotels and the bygone naval base in Brunswick. 乐播传媒 suits her just fine. 鈥淚 like it better, to be honest with you. Hotel work was a lot harder, making beds everyday.鈥� And sailors, she says, alluding to her work at the naval base, aren鈥檛 the tidiest.
She鈥檚 been working at 乐播传媒 for 10 years, and she plans to work at 乐播传媒 until retiring. “It goes by fast,” she says.
Gendron, Hanscom, and Butler team up on occasion for difficult tasks or just troubleshooting.
Hanscom, who works mostly on the first floor, brings the industrial scrubber and vacuum to the other floors to help out. 鈥淚 say, 鈥業f you wanna do it, that鈥檚 fine,鈥欌�� says Gendron.
鈥淎nd Paul鈥檚 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.鈥�
Of the various rooms and spaces in Bonney 鈥� labs, study rooms, classrooms, hallways, and offices 鈥� 鈥渢he classrooms are busy and a little more challenging to do, especially in the winter time, because there鈥檚 so much sand. But it鈥檚 okay; there鈥檚 three of us here, so it gets done. And the building鈥檚 new, which makes it easier to clean.鈥�
Unlike the bunker vibe in Dana Chemistry, Bonney鈥檚 interior is bright and open with lots of glass, which can be a pain to keep clean. Some folks said to Gendron, 鈥淥h, all that glass….鈥� 鈥淏ut I like it,鈥� 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.
Plus, Bonney鈥檚 residents aren鈥檛 likely to smudge the glass with noses and hands against the glass the way dogs and little kids do, she says.
The big kids in Bonney 鈥� the students 鈥� she likes quite a bit. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e good kids 鈥� very clean over here. If we need to go into a room, and there are a couple of kids in there, they鈥檙e like, 鈥楴o, no, come on in,’ they don鈥檛 mind.鈥�
Martin Kruse
Title: Assistant Professor of Biology and Neuroscience
Joined 乐播传媒: 2017
Date Photographed: Feb. 4, 2022
He says: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not separated any more. That means more communication and collaboration.鈥�
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.
During a class session in February, Kruse took time to explain to his students the various factors that affect 鈥渟ignal propagation鈥� in the nervous system.
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鈥檚 鈥淲ake Me Up Before You Go-Go鈥� has now propagated way past the constellation Ursa Major.)
In neurobiology, signal propagation 鈥渂asically refers to how fast our brains operate and why,鈥� said Kruse.
Kruse appreciates how the classroom鈥檚 setup 鈥� whiteboards, extensive projection equipment, and rollable chairs and tables 鈥� lets him pursue active-learning strategies, even ones as simple as taking a seat at a table.
A few minutes after explaining the factors involved in signal propagation, Kruse did just that, joining a tabletop discussion with Annie Li 鈥�24 of Oslo, Norway, Chloe Huh 鈥�23 of Highwood, Ill., and Will Brown 鈥�23 of Newton Center, Mass.
Kruse listened to their responses to this prompt: 鈥淲hat would be important properties of nerve cells to communicate in a fast and reliable way?鈥�
Among other research interests, Kruse鈥檚 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.
Imagine you鈥檙e 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鈥檚 about how it was for many faculty who worked in Carnegie Science Hall.
In Bonney, Kruse and others have a great kitchen: lab space, a cell culture room, and electrophysiology suite close by. 鈥淲e can do experiments that weren’t possible in our old lab space,鈥� he said.
To keep the culinary comparison going, Bonney鈥檚 layout creates better communication among all the chefs de cuisine and their chefs 鈥� that is, professors and their research students. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not separated any more. That means more communication and collaboration.鈥�
Alyson Farrington
Title: Assistant in Instruction, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Joined 乐播传媒: 2008
Date Photographed: Feb. 8, 2022
She says: 鈥淓ven if they don’t all become scientists, I hope they come out of chemistry actually enjoying it.”
Over the winter semester, Alyson Farrington taught seven lab sections for the popular introductory course 鈥淐hemistry Reactivity,鈥� each section comprising about 20 students.
At 乐播传媒, 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.
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 鈥�24 of Jacksonville, Fla., found humor in, well, she doesn鈥檛 quite recall 鈥� which doesn鈥檛 matter, really. 鈥淕eorge is a funny person,鈥� she says.
During the lab, she moved from group to group. She stopped by to help Buey Grossman 鈥�25 of Ketchum, Idaho, and Aldair Desiderio 鈥�24 of Trenton, N.J. They had a question. Farrington replied with a question. 鈥淚 like to 鈥榓nswer鈥� a question with a question to help the students think through a problem themselves,鈥� she says.
In the intro course, Farrington works with students with an interest 鈥� and non-interest 鈥� in chemistry. She enjoys the challenge of teaching students who are 鈥渕aybe a little hesitant or they’re immediately like, 鈥楥hem鈥檚 not my thing, but I sort of have to take this class.鈥欌��
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.”
When that happens? 鈥淚t鈥檚 my favorite thing.鈥�
Bonney also features a plethora of 鈥減eekaboo鈥� windows and glass doors, allowing any passerby to catch a glance of the people and workings in labs, classrooms, and study rooms. For students, 鈥渋t鈥檚 probably pretty neat to see their peers in a lab and actually see them working,鈥� says Farrington.
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.
Looking ahead, Farrington says the new and much-more-flexible teaching and lab spaces in Dana will allow faculty and staff to 鈥渟hake up鈥� the structure of introductory labs to include more individualized and projects-based labs. While teaching specific lab skills is critical, it鈥檚 also valuable 鈥渨ithin those parameters鈥� to give students the opportunity 鈥渢o make their own decisions, especially as they advance,鈥� she says.
The innovations that Bonney has allowed faculty and staff to usher in keeps Farrington fascinated with her work in the sciences. 鈥淚t’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.鈥�
It鈥檚 exhilarating, too, she says, to be surrounded by discovery, the feeling that 鈥渨hen you develop it, then it鈥檚 happening.鈥�
