Proposal - Oncourse - Indiana University

MURI Project Proposal Form
Section I: Proposal Cover Page
Date of submission: March 10, 2011
Proposed project title: Development and Implementation of Collaborative Knowledge
Base Software in the First-Semester Organic Chemistry Lecture
Principle Mentor
Name: Ryan Denton Ph.D.
Phone number: 317-278-5507
Department: Chemistry and Chemical
Biology
Co-mentor
Name: Rob Elliott
Phone number: 317-278-0150
Department: Computer, Information, and
Leadership Technology
Co-mentor
Name:
Phone number:
Department:
Title: Academic Specialist
Email: rdenton@iupui.edu
School: Science
Title: Visiting Lecturer
Email: elliott@iupui.edu
School: Engineering and Technology
Title:
Email:
School:
Please note that preference will be given to projects that include mentors from multiple
disciplines.
The project will be carried out and completed (check only one):
Summer Program
Academic Year Program
(June 1-July 29, 2011) (October 5, 2011-April 30, 2012)
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 1

Section II: Student Request Page
Total number of students requested: four
(Note: The total number of students must exceed the number of mentors by two)
Total number of freshmen and/or sophomores to be recruited: one (no recommendations)
Disciplines or majors of students (preference will be given to projects that include at least two
disciplines or majors): Chemistry, Science Education, Information Technology, and Human-
Computer Interaction
Skills expected from students: Students with expertise in organic chemistry, having excelled in
the classroom and laboratory, are desired for their ability to help creatively shape content
development for the knowledge base. We are specifically targeting students who have a desire
to pursue chemistry in academia, as this research in chemical education could have a dramatic
effect on their future ability as educators. Information Technology students with strengths in
systems analysis, database construction, and interface design will be needed to ensure that the
software needed by the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology will be scalable and
usable to both students and faculty.
Names of students you request to work on this project. Tyler Crumpacker, Dagny Colgan,
Jordan Warner
(Mentors are invited to recommend students that they would prefer to work on the proposed
project. Please provide an email address and a rationale; for example, a student may have an
essential skill, may already be working on a similar project, or may be intending to apply to
graduate school to pursue the same area of research.)
The Center for Research and Learning will consider the students requested below, but cannot
guarantee placement of specific students on teams.
Name of Student: Student’s Email: Rationale:
1)_Tyler Crumpacker__ tcrumpac@iupui.edu currently involved in initial KB content
development, interested in pursuing career in academia
2)_Jordan Warner____ jorwarne@iupui.edu interested in a career in chemical
education
3)_Dagny Colgan_____ dacolgan@iupui.edu agreed to be involved as programmer
for summer 2011 pilot
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Section III: Body of Proposal
Research Objectives
Develop and improve initial content for organic chemistry knowledge base (KB) from
multiple sources: faculty/student-generated text, lecture podcasts, practice problems,
multimedia, and more. Identify and creatively solve the ongoing cycle of information
provided and lost on a semester-to-semester basis.
Show proof of concept that a faculty-generated knowledge base is practical and could
provide an excellent tool for unifying curriculum across an entire discipline
Monitor undergraduate student use of the KB, linking student performance in the organic
lecture class with their activity on the website. These results could lead to important
findings in cyberlearning. Chemical educational research into the resulting data will be a
vital portion of this project.
Research and interpret the results of past software-enhanced collaborative teaching
environments
Conduct interviews and ethnographic research with existing faculty and students to assist
in the specification of a platform that meets all needs
Investigate current best-practices in educational software development for a diverse
student base and a large faculty
Design and implement a technical environment that allows for the use of the software
product from a variety of devices and operating systems
Narrative
Faculty from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (C&CB) and the Department
of Computer, Information, and Leadership Technology (CILT) at IUPUI seek to conduct
undergraduate research in the areas of chemical education and information technology.
Undergraduate student research will seek to address sub-optimal performance and a high DFW
rate in the first-semester organic chemistry lecture by implementing a collaborative online
organic chemistry knowledge base (KB). In 2009, the C&CB developed a strategic educational
research plan to improve the student experience in the first-semester organic series. We believe,
through our initial research, one crucial pathway for solving the problems above involves
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 3

creating an online organic chemistry KB that will house an ever-growing database of student
questions and IUPUI faculty content.
The development of this tool will be overseen by one chemistry faculty and one information
technology faculty, with the full support of their respective departments. To assess the value of
the KB as a novel educational tool in organic chemistry, we will focus strongly on a chemical
education research approach to the above problem. Available tools including standardized
exams, semester exams, student focus group analysis, and student surveys will provide concrete
data to assess the value of the proposed KB. Student researchers in chemical education will
synthesize conclusions from multiple data sources to direct the future course of this research.
CILT undergraduate students will research current software solutions for collaborative teaching,
including the so-called “wiki” model, to analyze the effectiveness of existing products and
initiatives. Practically speaking, there are a wide variety of theories about the effectiveness,
scalability, and proper algorithmic structure of “knowledge bases” as a whole. 1 The team will
work closely with faculty from the C&CB to fully document the needs of the faculty and
understand the expected outcomes from the product. This firsthand understanding of the
intended use of the tool will allow students to determine which methodologies should be invoked
when selecting a design model for the knowledge base. Finally, with the support of science
students acting as “subject matter experts,” the development team will design and implement a
software solution that meets the explicit needs of the C&CB.
By far the majority of information accessed by the modern student is digital in nature. An
August 2007 study by comScore found that “more than 750 million people age 15 and older, or
95 percent of the worldwide Internet audience, conducted 61 billion searches worldwide in
August 2007 alone, an average of more than 80 searches per searcher.” 2 However, in the firstsemester
organic chemistry lecture, students remain reliant upon information accessed in a
traditional textbook and/or course notes to answer all problems/questions assigned. Though
course notes are given as digital slides, the student typically relies on paper copies for their
study. With a growing population of students equipped with multiple devices to access the
World Wide Web, online organic chemistry information sources are becoming more prevalent. 3
According to the most recent solicitation for the National Science Foundation’s Research and
Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering (REESE) program, “The reconceptualization
of how, when, and where learning can take place has strong implications for
how to effectively educate 21 st century learners who are already digital natives.”
As students’ learning styles become increasingly associated with online applications, we believe
a knowledge base format offers significant advantages to other more common alternatives:
online textbooks, blogs, and wikis. The concept of the knowledge base as a teaching
methodology is not new, 4 but its use is still rare in pedagogical practice for undergraduates,
particularly in the sciences. To our knowledge, no knowledge base in organic chemistry has
been created or is currently available. There have been several attempts to integrate some new
media for information dissemination into the classroom, such as electronic texts, blogs, and
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 4

wikis. More research is needed to measure the effectiveness of these tools, as results have
varied. 5
After a promising testing phase beginning in the Summer 2009, the C&CB and the CILT are
committed to developing an organic chemistry KB, a supplemental online information source for
students seeking to succeed in the organic chemistry lecture. We have purchased and piloted
software from KB Publisher Inc. version 3.5. 6 This software purchase was funded, along with an
initial undergraduate researcher, by the Curriculum Enhancement Grant (CEG) from the Center
for Teaching and Learning at IUPUI.
This resource will allow students to perform sophisticated searches through an online repository
of organic chemistry information, initially developed by Dr. Ian Hunt from the University of
Calgary for the first-semester lecture course. 7 This material functions much like an online
textbook, providing students the ability to perform topical searches and link to other related
material on this resource or other websites. However, it is our goal that IUPUI faculty will
transition their own “knowledge”, whether in text or media form, into the KB as well. In
addition, students can post questions, make comments, and provide suggestions as might be
found on a wiki or blog site. An essential and defining characteristic of this software is its ability
to monitor student use of various aspects of the KB site, and subsequently correlate student
performance on exams with their activity on the KB. These results could lead to significant
developments in the understanding of the cognitive implications of cyberlearning.
Ultimately, this KB (http://chemkb.cs.iupui.edu) will provide an ever-growing database of both
technical and practical knowledge for first-semester organic chemistry students. It is our
eventual goal that this proof of concept could be expanded to other faculty groups in other
disciplines and fields of study. Ephemeral semesters of faculty office hours, help sessions,
practice problems, and workshops can now be preserved in a fully-searchable online database,
which is provided totally free to all students. With this tool, faculty could clearly structure the
complementary curricular design of an entire program, encouraging a collaborative approach to
education. This pursuit also carries the added benefit of aiding non-traditional students who are
disadvantaged due to their limited access to faculty during the typical work day.
Students planning to pursue a chemistry career in academia or a career in information
technology, will receive very valuable and applicable skills from this research. Chemistry
students will pursue chemical education research, an area that is often disregarded or ignored for
students pursuing a career in education/academia (such as Jordan Warner and Tyler
Crumpacker). This MURI project is not merely designed to create an online educational tool, it
is designed to objectively study the implications of a KB on defined learning outcomes in the
first-semester organic chemistry lecture. By their first-hand involvement in the creation and
collection of content, as well as the educational research into cyberlearning, students will gain
valuable insight into the research process. This educational research will without a doubt
strengthen their understanding of teaching and learning. Information Technology students will
have the opportunity to perform research on a number of existing systems, gather qualitative
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interview data, and analyze the quantitatively measured results of the performance of the system.
This opportunity will afford students the opportunity to not only gather and implement research,
but refine it on an ongoing basis; this is a significant benefit to students who frequently leave
projects behind as they progress through the curriculum.
Initially chemistry undergraduates will be summarizing past research in online learning, while
developing hypotheses as to fundamental aspects to be included in the KB. We believe that an
understanding of what makes an effective educational research article will help them design
sound research methods and recognize how tools can be used to solve the above problem. They
will be trained in the (educational) research process: clearly defining and identifying the specific
problem, developing and comparing hypotheses, carrying out the experiment, and evaluating
data gathered from available tools (standardized exams, semester exams, focus group analysis,
survey data, etc.). All undergraduates will have the opportunity to take a training course in
social and behavioral human subject research to help them gain an appreciation for the full scope
of educational research. As far as specific tasks, chemistry undergraduate researchers will be
involved in helping design and conceptualize KB content creation. They will also be involved in
creating assessment tools such as surveys and focus group questions. Finally, they will be
studying collected data from student use of the KB. Information technology students will work
with the chemistry undergraduates to create and execute surveys, analyze the results of
interviews and questionnaires, and demonstrate how to implement the results of this analysis into
functional software components.
In order to effectively communicate with the MURI team, the mentors will facilitate a bi-weekly
meeting to encourage active study of literature, research presentation skills, and a focused
approach toward solving a problem in a group setting. The research group also plans to set up an
Oncourse/SharePoint project site to facilitate communication and information transfer between
all group members. This will be a centralized hub for sharing relevant literature and providing
progress reports.
We anticipate that several measurable outcomes will result from this research: 1) a KB will be
developed and enhanced for use as a learning tool in the organic lecture class, 2) student
performance and perception data will allow analysis of research progress and success, 3) students
involved will experience the research process with opportunities to present findings in
educational publications, conferences, and meetings, 4) aspiring educators will be trained in the
objective study of teaching and learning, 5) and students will have hands-on experience working
to resolve a significant concern in the C&CB department.
Research Timeline
Summer 2011 – Full scale pilot of KB (approx. 120 students) in Summer I organic lecture,
results will help direct further content and technology innovations. Analysis of existing software
solutions and development of surveys will begin.
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Fall 2011 – Undergraduates will undertake extensive data analysis from pilot, begin design and
creation of new content. Ideally, KB will be further piloted in the fall semester to over 250
students in two lecture classes. Information Technology students will study user information
from summer to hypothesize solutions and continue to make improvements to the software as
needed. Students will help identify idle information sources and how they can be utilized in the
KB.
Spring 2012 – Continue analysis of data from Fall 2011. Collect text and media from organic
chemistry faculty for inclusion into the KB. Present research at local or regional meetings.
Prepare for initial manuscript submission.
No additional budget is required.
As stated in the support letter below from Jay Siegel, chair of the C&CB, we have previously
received funding through the IUPUI Center for Teaching and Learning Curriculum Enhancement
Grant. After a successful year of research, we anticipate targeting one of three National Science
Foundation funding opportunities to obtain federal funds to continue the research: Transforming
Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (TUES),
Cyberlearning: Transforming Education, and Research and Evaluation on Education in Science
and Engineering (REESE). All three funding opportunities have well-documented track records
of supporting technology-driven educational developments. The NSF Department of
Undergraduate Education (DUE) program alone has over 30 active grants with “online” in the
project title, funding a variety of novel and proven technology-driven educational research.
Risk Management
All university policies with respect to research must be followed. Thus, the usual risk management
assurances must be provided where appropriate (animal use, radiation safety, DNA, human
subjects protocols) in accordance with the university policies. No funds may be released without
risk-management assurances, where needed. Project proposals without required compliance
approvals will be reviewed but the funds will not be released until approval is given by the
university.
Further information on risk management is available from http://researchadmin.iu.edu/cs.html
Please check any risk assurances that apply to this proposal:
Animals (IACUC Study #): _________________
Human Subjects (IRB Study #): __Expedited IRB submission in preparation__
r-DNA (IBC Study #): _____________________
Human Pathogens, Blood, Fluids, or Tissues must be identified if used: ______
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Section IV: References/Bibliography (insert 1-2 pages as needed)
1. John Mylopoulos, Vinay Chaudhri, Dimitris Plexousakis, Adel Shrufi, and Thodoros
Topologlou. 1996. Building knowledge base management systems. The VLDB Journal 5, 4
(December 1996), 238-263.
2. ComScore. (http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2007/10/
Worldwide_Searches_Reach_61_Billion/ Accessed: January 5, 2010).
3. a. Ochem4free. (http://www.ochem4free.com/Accessed: January 8, 2010).
b. Wiki-Books. (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Organic_Chemistry/ Accessed: January 8, 2010).
c. Online Web-Based Learning (OWL). (http://owl.cengage.com/ Accessed: January 12, 2010).
4. Peter D. Karp, Vinay K. Chaudhri, and Suzanne M. Paley. 1999. A Collaborative Environment
for Authoring Large Knowledge Bases. J. Intell. Inf. Syst. 13, 3 (November 1999), 155-194.
5. a. Sarah Guth. 2007. Wikis in education:: is public better In Proceedings of the 2007
international symposium on Wikis (WikiSym '07). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 61-68.
b. Gilad Ravid, Yoram M. Kalman, and Sheizaf Rafaeli. 2008. Wikibooks in higher education:
Empowerment through online distributed collaboration. Comput. Hum. Behav.24, 5 (September
2008), 1913-1928.
c. Chesney, T., An empirical examination of Wikipedia's credibility. First Monday, 2006(11): p.
1-1.
d. Skiba, D.J., Do your students wiki Nurs. Educ. Perspect, 2005. 26(2): p. 120-1.
e. Recker, M., et al., A study of teachers' use of online learning resources to design classroom
activities. New Review of Hypermedia & Multimedia, 2007. 13(2): p. 117-134.
f. Drexler, E., Hypertext publishing and the evolution of knowledge. Social Intelligence, 1991.
g. Wang C. & Turner, D., Extending the wiki paradigm for use in the classroom. Proceeding of
the International Conference on Information Technology: Coding and Compution. Los Alamitos,
CA IEEE Computer Society, 2004.
h. McKay, S.M., Best practices for the use of wikis in teacher education programs. Proceedings
of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2007,
2409-2412.
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 8

6. KB Publisher. (http://www.kbpublisher.com/ Accessed: January 8, 2010).
7. Organic Chemistry On-Line Learning Center.
(http://www.chem.ucalgary.ca/courses/351/Carey5th/Carey.html/ Accessed January 8, 2010).
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 9

Section V: CVs/Resumes (insert 2 pages per mentor for a maximum of 6 pages)
PRINCIPLE MENTOR - RYAN E. DENTON
EDUCATION
• Ph.D., Chemistry, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN 2003-2009
Advisor: Dr. Stephanie E. Sen
Thesis: Isoprenoid Metabolism in Lepidopteran Insects and Plants
• BA, Chemistry, Anderson University, Anderson, IN 1999-2003
Minor: Computer Science Overall GPA: 3.8/4.0
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN Academic Specialist, Organic Chemistry 2009-
• Currently teaching summer organic chemistry lecture
• Overseeing all organic lab sections and teaching periodic recitations
• Developing a hybrid online curriculum, including demonstrational videos and online
lectures, for the first semester organic chemistry lab
• Researching collaborative knowledge base development for organic chemistry lectures
• Supporting introduction of novel group-based discussion sections for the first semester
organic chemistry lecture
• Overseeing undergraduate chemical education research in lab development and
knowledge base software implementation
Anderson University, Anderson, IN Visiting Lecturer, Organic Chemistry Fall 2006
• Taught first semester organic chemistry lecture and lab at a small, private, primarily
undergraduate institution
• Developed a lecture curriculum to engage undergraduate students
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2003-2009: Graduate Student, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN
Advisor: Dr. Stephanie E. Sen
• Developed a novel radiosynthesis of an isoprenoid substrate needed for enzymological
assays and synthesized a variety of radioactive and non-radioactive substrate analogs and
small molecule inhibitors for biological targets
• Designed an extraction and derivatization protocol for gas chromatography analysis of
amino acid derivatives in Arabidopsis thaliana
• Expressed, purified, and characterized recombinant C. fumiferana isopentenyl
diphosphate isomerase, including subsequent assays and kinetics experiments
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 10

Summer 2002: Institute for Molecular Diversity and Drug Design (IMD 3 ) Fellow, University of
Louisville, Louisville, KY
• Conducted research for the late Dr. Arno F. Spatola and Dr. Craig A. Grapperhaus
focusing on a Ψ[CH 2 S] pseudodipeptide library synthesis via a nickel scaffold
• Presented research at Indiana Local ACS Meeting October 2002, Butler Univ.
GRANTS SUBMITTED
• DUE-0942176: “Modernization of the Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratories at
IUPUI Through the Creation of a Shared Central Indiana NMR Facility.” (submitted
5/21/09). Robert Minto, PI; Ryan Denton, co-PI; Karl Dria, co-PI. Proposed the
acquisition of an NMR and shared instrument facility to improve undergraduate
laboratory curriculum in central Indiana and received 3 Very Good and 2 Excellent
reviews, though the grant was denied funding due to funding trends.
GRANTS AWARDED
• IUPUI Center for Teaching and Learning Curriculum Enhancement Grant:
“Curricular Enhancements to the First-Semester Organic Chemistry Series.” (6/10-6/11);
$12,000. Robert Minto, PI; Ryan Denton, co-PI. Proposed lecture discussion sections,
hybrid online laboratories, and online knowledge base software to improve the firstsemester
organic chemistry series.
PUBLICATIONS
Arabidopsis thaliana plants possess a specific farnesylcysteine lyase that is involved in
detoxification and recycling of farnesylcysteine. Crowell, Dring; Huizinga, Dave; Deem,
Angela; Trobaugh, Corey; Denton, Ryan; and Sen, Stephanie. The Plant Journal (2007), 50,
839-847.
Farnesylcysteinelyase is involved in negative regulation of abscisic acid signaling in
Arabidopsis. Huizinga, David; Denton, Ryan; Koehler, Kelly; Tomasello, Ashley; Wood,
Lyndsay; Sen, Stephanie; Crowell, Dring. Molecular Plant (2010), 3, 143-155.
REFERENCES
Stephanie Sen, Advisor, Associate Professor of Chemistry, currently at The College of New
Jersey, (609) 771-3287 sen@tcnj.edu
Martin O’Donnell, Chancellor's Professor, Indiana Univ. Purdue Univ. at Indianapolis, (317)
274-6887 odonnell@chem.iupui.edu
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 11

Co-MENTOR – Rob Elliott
EDUCATION
• M.S. Human-Computer Interaction, IU School of Informatics, Indianapolis, IN 2009
• B.S. Computer Programming Technology, Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN 2000
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN Visiting Lecturer, Computer Information Technology 2009-
• Teaching systems analysis, web programming, and mobile app. development courses
• Coordinate 7 courses in the CIT curriculum as well as the Web Programming track for
CIT majors and two certificate programs
RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
American National Red Cross Online Learning Platform Developer 2008-2010
Developed an online learning platform for the ARC that served at its peak over 30
courses to 70,000+ students/year
Nationally-recognized web-based learning platform provided significant cost savings to
the organization
Afforded the ARC the ability to rapidly train vast populations in basic lifesaving skills
during times of disaster
GRANTS AWARDED
• IUPUI Center for Teaching and Learning Curriculum Enhancement Grant: Cross-
Course Collaboration: The Impact of Integrating First-Year Students into the Broader
Curriculum (6/10-6/11); $26,500. Nancy Evans, PI; Rob Elliott, co-PI. Restructured
gateway course for incoming CIT students to increase its effectiveness and relevance in
the curriculum.
REFERENCES
Eugenia Fernandez, Assistant Professor of Computer Information Technology, IUPUI, (317)
274-6794, efernand@iupui.edu
Joe Defazio, Associate Professor of Media Arts & Sciences, IUPUI, (317) 278-4148,
jdefazio@iupui.edu
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Anthony Faiola, Associate Professor and Executive Assistant Dean, School of Informatics,
IUPUI, (317) 278-4141, faiola@iupui.edu
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 13

Section VI: Support Letters (insert 1- 2 pages as needed)
(2 attachments included)
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 14

10 March 2011
IUPUI Center for Research and Learning
RE: Proposal to Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Institute
Dear MURI Program Director:
I am writing to support the MURI proposal from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical
Biology and Department of Computer, Information, and Leadership Technology entitled
“Development and Implementation of Collaborative Knowledge Base Software in
the First-Semester Organic Chemistry Lecture” to support undergraduate research in organic
chemistry education at IUPUI. This proposal aligns with departmental aims to encourage
adoption of proven pedagogies and pursue new and effective teaching methodology in chemistry.
Recently, Rob Minto and Ryan Denton received funding from the Center for Teaching and
Learning’s Curriculum Enhancement Grant to pilot introductory research toward this end.
Furthermore, we believe involving undergraduates in chemical education research will be
beneficial for their present and future potential as chemists.
Ryan Denton was hired nearly two years ago to the Department as an Academic Specialist to
oversee the organic chemistry laboratories and summer lecture courses, including responsibilities
and involvement in pedagogical research. Since his hire, Dr. Denton has been active in pursuing
positive changes to the organic chemistry curriculum and should be well-suited to implement this
research and to develop the proposed knowledge base software. These activities are inherent in
Ryan’s prescribed duties and therefore should be easily sustainable.
Sincerely,
Jay A. Siegel, Ph.D.
Chair
402 N. Blackford Street Indianapolis, IN 46202-3274 (317) 274-6872 fax (317) 274-4701 http://chem.iupui.edu
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

10 March 2011
IUPUI
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER,
INFORMATION, AND
LEADERSHIP TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
A Purdue University School
Indianapolis
Dear MURI Proposal Review Committee,
I write to support Rob Elliott’s service as a mentor in the MURI proposal for the Chemistry Knowledge Base.
The proposed project aligns with our department’s emphasis on experiential learning. Students with a technical
background, such as those from the Computer and Information Technology program, will have the opportunity to
research and produce a software product that will provide interactive learning opportunities for students in
Chemistry. Students with a science background will act as Subject Matter Experts and, with faculty input, will
provide a great deal of insight into how the software product will be used. Finally, students from departments
related to the study of teaching and learning (e.g., Education, New Media) will use their experience to inform the
development of the software so that it can become a vital teaching tool for the Chemistry department.
By integrating students from multiple schools on campus (Engineering & Technology, Science, Informatics, and
Education), students will learn how to work as a collaborative team and will develop the diverse skills needed to
accomplish goals embedded in Chemistry Knowledge Base Project. Coached by mentors with a background in the
immediate subject matter (Chemistry) and the ability to transform ideas into production (Computer and
Information Technology), the work of these students will produce a learning tool that could easily be adapted
across multiple departments and campuses.
Furthermore, this project promotes critical thinking and problem solving which links directly to PUL 2: Critical
Thinking, and plays a significant role in our assessment and accreditation efforts. Finally, increasing the
opportunities for undergraduate research is a significant goal for our program, school, and the broader campus.
Rob Elliott, a faculty member in the Computer and Information Technology program, will act as the technical
mentor for the project. Rob is considered our resident expert in Web development and has taught most of the
Web development courses in our curriculum. He also serves as champion for our two web development certificate
programs. Rob brings a wealth of consulting experience to the project. I am confident that Mr. Elliott has
demonstrated abilities in the past that will enable him to successfully complete the mentoring tasks this project
involves.
In closing, I highly recommend that this project be selected as a MURI opportunity for AY 2011-2012. As
department chair, I will provide my full support for the teams’ work and provide any resources needed to ensure
the success of the project. It promises to increase our research opportunities, enhance student learning, and
support our assessment and accreditation efforts. In addition, I see great potential for scholarly work related to the
software product developed.
Please contact me at 317-274-6794 or efernand@iupui.edu if I may provide additional information or answer
further questions.
Sincerely,
Eugenia Fernandez, Ph.D.
Chair, Computer, Information & Leadership Technology
799 W. Michigan Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 (317) 278 – 0277 www.engr.iupui.edu/cilt
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis

Section VII: Appendix (Title of and information on the status and outcomes of past MURI
projects received by the Principal Mentor. Please insert 1 page summary per previous MURI
project as needed according to template below. Maximum - 5 pages.)
Title of Past MURI Project: N/A
Date Awarded:
Date Completed:
Brief Description:
Outcomes:
Poster presentations:
Title:
Date:
Students Involved:
Conference presentations:
Title:
Date:
Students Involved:
Publications:
Title:
Date:
Students Involved:
MURI Mentor’s Project Proposal Form, Updated: 1-25-2011 15

Section VIII: Signature
Name and Signature of the Principal Mentor:
(typingthe full name suffices as signature for electronic copies)
____Ryan Denton________________________________________________3-10-11_______
Name Signature Date
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