Course topics: fundamentals of Fourier theory and its application to speech signals, parameterization of the speech signal for automatic and human speech recognition, state space models for speech recognition and connections to human language parsing, fundamentals of machine learning applied to supervised learning of sound categories.

This course examines evolutionary biology with an emphasis on the scientific basis of evolution, and attention to the implications of evolutionary thought in contemporary society. Not intended for life-science majors. (Gen.Ed. BS)

For non-science majors; not for Biology major credit. Designed to provide non-science majors with the basic scientific knowledge that an informed citizen requires to develop thoughtful positions on sometimes controversial questions related to medical ethics, environmental degradation, cloning, biotechnology, STDs, and education.(Gen.Ed. BS)

There are a mind-boggling 400,000 species of plants on earth, with new species discovered every year. Plants have evolved over hundreds of millions of years to efficiently capture the sun's energy and cycle oxygen in the atmosphere. How did this diversity come to be, and why are plants so varied in form and function? Explore the plants of the world in a hands-on laboratory setting using live temperate and tropical plants from the UMass greenhouses and forests. You will use this new-found knowledge to study your favorite plant in an independent project for the web.

Mechanisms underlying organ system function in vertebrates; nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular, digestive, excretory, reproductive systems.

Our first goal in this course will be to examine the mechanisms that underlie the expression of behavior. For example, how do predators locate prey, how do animals avoid becoming prey, and how do animals navigate through their worlds? To help answer these questions we will apply neurobiological, hormonal, genetic, and developmental perspectives. Our next goal in the course will be to examine the evolutionary bases of behavior, asking for example why animals move, forage, hide, communicate, and socialize as they do.

Our first goal in this course will be to examine the mechanisms that underlie the expression of behavior. For example, how do predators locate prey, how do animals avoid becoming prey, and how do animals navigate through their worlds? To help answer these questions we will apply neurobiological, hormonal, genetic, and developmental perspectives. Our next goal in the course will be to examine the evolutionary bases of behavior, asking for example why animals move, forage, hide, communicate, and socialize as they do.

Our first goal in this course will be to examine the mechanisms that underlie the expression of behavior. For example, how do predators locate prey, how do animals avoid becoming prey, and how do animals navigate through their worlds? To help answer these questions we will apply neurobiological, hormonal, genetic, and developmental perspectives. Our next goal in the course will be to examine the evolutionary bases of behavior, asking for example why animals move, forage, hide, communicate, and socialize as they do.

This course focuses on the processes affecting the distribution of genetic variation in populations of organisms, through space and time. The processes studied are the ones that operate during evolutionary change. Topics covered will include the Hardy-Weinberg principle, gene flow, genetic drift, recombination and linkage disequilibrium, natural selection, the effect of mating systems on diversity, and the neutral theory of evolution. Examples illustrating key concepts will be drawn from various kingdoms of life. The course will consist of lectures and in class discussions.

The goal of this class is to provide students with the experience of conducting scientific research. To address that, students will learn to develop an experimental question, create hypotheses and predictions, conduct experiments, troubleshoots problems, analyze data and ultimately convey their results in written and oral forms. This class will use the zebrafish as a model organism to understand how physiological changes affect neural cells in the larval zebrafish brain.