47 



this project to develop innovative materials ready for broad adoption The impact of the NSF 

 program can be measured in several ways, including the fact that over 35 percent of all students 

 enrolled in calculus in the US are now taking a "reformed" course, including those in over 1000 

 institutions that were not supported by NSF as pilot projects under this program, indicating 

 exceptional leadership, dissemination, and impact- 

 Research Training Groups Since 1989, NSF has sponsored 23 integrated, 

 multidisciplmary. training programs through its biological sciences Research Training Groups 

 (RTGs) program, for a total investment of approximately $30 million The goal has been to 

 facilitate broadened education and research training centered on a multidisciplmary research 

 theme RTGs include faculty from disciplines such as mathematics, chemistry and computer 

 science in addition to the biological sciences, and students from undergraduate through 

 postdoctoral levels Opportunities for industrial internships are included as part of the training. 



The programs of individual RTGs often impact students at many institutions. For example, the 

 RTG for Metals in Biology at the University ot Georgia offers a summer workshop in inorganic 

 biochemistry to graduate students from across the nation Over the last 5 years, 

 approximately 400 students from other institutions have received instruction in isolation and 

 genetic characterization of novel bacteria, and in the purification and analysis of novel, metal- 

 containing proteins The multidisciplinary training being provided students at Georgia and 

 other RTGs is helping to develop a "fearless" biologist, a scientist especially well equipped to 

 tackle the challenging multidisciplmary problems of the 21st century. 



