Spring Break
Research facility dedicated to donors
by Nashrah Rahman
Editorial assistant
News | 11/11/08
Posted online at 2:57 AM EST on 11/11/08
Brandeis officials recently dedicated the Landsman Research Facility after supporters Sheila and Manny Landsman, who funded the construction of the building, which is home to the superconducting magnet used by scientists to examine the causes of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, according to Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Nancy Winshup.
Winshup noted that Manny Landsman is a "very active" member of the Science Advisory Council, which provides guidance and support to the science departments at Brandeis. Winshup believes that Landsman, who does not have a Brandeis degree or other direct connection to Brandeis, was won over by the "excellence of the sciences" at the University. He was "fascinated" by "this small institution with limited resources, which has such spectacular scientists," Winshup said. Consequently during the University's search for a donor who might be interested in financing a facility for the superconducting magnet, Landsman offered to provide the funding. "Brandeis is a very small institution, but we are a powerhouse in science, and so an opportunity like this allows our faculty to do more of the research that they want do with the best tools," Winshup said.
The Landsmans have also established the Landsman Charitable Foundation Endowed Scholarship at Brandeis and provided funding for the Office of Technology Licensing, which manages the patenting, licensing, trade marking and copyrighting of intellectual property developed at the University.
The Landsman facility completed construction in the fall of 2005. Prof. Thomas Pochapsky (CHEM) who spearheaded the efforts to bring the superconducting magnet to Brandeis remembered that the city of Waltham initially had some concerns about approving the building permit for the construction of the facility. "We assured the city that there was no safety or power issues for them to worry about, and they issued the building permits," Pochapsky wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. On the contrary Pochapsky said, "It is a very safe technology for the user and for the environment." However, he stated that the "standard operation procedure" for the usage of the magnet only requires there to be no metal objects on the person operating it, in case the object gets attracted to the magnet.
Winshup noted that Manny Landsman is a "very active" member of the Science Advisory Council, which provides guidance and support to the science departments at Brandeis. Winshup believes that Landsman, who does not have a Brandeis degree or other direct connection to Brandeis, was won over by the "excellence of the sciences" at the University. He was "fascinated" by "this small institution with limited resources, which has such spectacular scientists," Winshup said. Consequently during the University's search for a donor who might be interested in financing a facility for the superconducting magnet, Landsman offered to provide the funding. "Brandeis is a very small institution, but we are a powerhouse in science, and so an opportunity like this allows our faculty to do more of the research that they want do with the best tools," Winshup said.
The Landsmans have also established the Landsman Charitable Foundation Endowed Scholarship at Brandeis and provided funding for the Office of Technology Licensing, which manages the patenting, licensing, trade marking and copyrighting of intellectual property developed at the University.
The Landsman facility completed construction in the fall of 2005. Prof. Thomas Pochapsky (CHEM) who spearheaded the efforts to bring the superconducting magnet to Brandeis remembered that the city of Waltham initially had some concerns about approving the building permit for the construction of the facility. "We assured the city that there was no safety or power issues for them to worry about, and they issued the building permits," Pochapsky wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. On the contrary Pochapsky said, "It is a very safe technology for the user and for the environment." However, he stated that the "standard operation procedure" for the usage of the magnet only requires there to be no metal objects on the person operating it, in case the object gets attracted to the magnet.
Be the first to comment on this story