Ecosystems are defined by the interactions between the plants, animals, microorganisms, and abiotic environmental features that affect them. This course will cover the flows of energy, carbon, and nutrients within ecosystems, tracing the key processes that govern ecosystem function. Through the course, we will develop the connections between organisms, abiotic factors, and ecosystem processes.

This course develops skills for designing experiments and analyzing data using standard statistical methods. Work will include the use of some common computer packages, mainly Excel or Open Office, Minitab and R. We will use a standard textbook and also design and carry out data collection in class, with some data collected and analyzed by students on their own. We will also discuss examples of published research and relevant aspects of the philosophy of science.

This course extends the concepts, techniques and applications of an introductory calculus course. We'll detect periodicity in noisy data, and study functions of several variables, integration, differential equations, and the approximation of functions by polynomials. We'll continue the analysis of dynamical systems taking models from student selected primary literature on ecology, economics, epidemiology, and physics. We will finish with an introduction to the theory and applications of Fourier series and harmonic analysis. Computers and numerical methods will be used throughout.

NS 248 is an introduction to the principles and practice of epidemiology and the use of data in program planning and policy development. The course covers the major concepts usually found in a graduate-level introductory course in epidemiology: outbreak investigations, study design, measures of effect, internal and external validity, reliability, and causal inference. Assigned readings are drawn from a standard textbook and the primary literature.

The function of the brain can hardly be examined without considering the influence of the endocrine system. The social, nutritional and sensory environment of an organism can dramatically affect the expression of specific hormones. Those hormones, in turn, can determine the development, degree of plasticity and output of the nervous system. Thus, the behavior an organism can have is sometimes determined by the endocrine constraints on the nervous system.

This introductory course will explore the process of doing scientific research in a molecular biology lab. Students will learn numerous techniques in the lab, including DNA isolation, PCR, gel electrophoresis, restriction enzyme mapping, cloning, and basic microscopy. Additionally, we will investigate the historical and conceptual aspects of these approaches. Students will engage in semester-long research projects in which they design and carryout experiments, collect and analyze data, and report their conclusions in written and oral formats.

Plants productivity underlies most of life on Earth. In this three-part course, we will explore the role of plants in addressing some challenging problems, such as climate change, hunger, toxic environment, and social disintegration. First we will survey the use of plants in sustainable solutions. Then we will discover the structure and function of plants, the basis for growth, and the diversity of the plant kingdom. Finally students will design a botanical solution, one that is socially just, economically feasible, and ecologically sound.

With humans as our primary model system, we will cover cellular and general tissue physiology and the endocrine, nervous, cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, and renal organ systems. Primary emphasis is on functional processes in these systems and on cellular and molecular mechanisms common across systems. Students will engage in class problems, lectures, and reading of secondary science literature. Basic knowledge of and comfort with biology, chemistry, and math is necessary.

Motivated by geometric symmetries found in nature, such as rotational symmetry of snowflakes and bilateral symmetry of some animals, this course will introduce the mathematical foundations of the branch of mathematics known as group theory. Group theory, among other things, allows us to describe symmetries of an object in terms of operations, such as rotations, which leave the object unchanged. The course is divided into three parts. In the first part we introduce the basic definition of a group by considering symmetries observed in nature.

This course is an introduction to the structure, properties, reactivity, and spectroscopy of organic molecules, as well as their significance in our daily lives. We will first lay down the groundwork for the course, covering bonding, physical properties of organic compounds, stereochemistry, and kinetics and thermodynamics of organic reactions. We will then move on to the reactions of alkanes, alkyl halides, alcohols and ethers, alkenes, and alkynes, emphasizing the molecular mechanisms that allow us to predict and understand chemical behavior.