Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2019
Volume 64, Number 2
Monday–Friday, March 4–8, 2019; Boston, Massachusetts
Session C60: Life, the Universe, and Everything: Teaching Biology to Physicists and Physics to BiologistsEducation Invited Undergraduate
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Sponsoring Units: FED Chair: Laurie McNeil, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Room: BCEC 258A |
Monday, March 4, 2019 2:30PM - 3:06PM |
C60.00001: Physics, biology and chemistry: teaching at the interface between the natural sciences Invited Speaker: Rhonda Dzakpasu The biological physics major at Georgetown University was created to attract premed students who might otherwise major in biology. Many of these students will have taken physics and calculus – frequently at the AP level – in high school and are often not aware that physics can be a viable path to medical school. This talk will discuss our philosophy in developing the major and the requirements to complete the major; I will focus on the two-semester sequence in biological physics and the independent research project. I will also present some of the benefits as well as the challenges that we have experienced as we work to refine the major as well as what types of paths our majors take after they graduate. |
Monday, March 4, 2019 3:06PM - 3:42PM |
C60.00002: ISC: An Integrated, Quantitative Introduction to the Natural Sciences at Princeton University Invited Speaker: Joshua Shaevitz The Integrated Science Curriculum (ISC) at Princeton is an integrated, mathematically and computationally sophisticated introduction to physics and chemistry, drawing on examples from biological systems. This year long, four course sequence is a multi-disciplinary course taught across multiple departments and intended for students considering a career in science. Briefly, ISC teaches introductory Physics, Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Computer Science in an integrated setting through a combination of lectures, precepts, and laboratory exercises. The 2018-19 academic year represents our fifteenth year teaching the course and I will present a progress report on how the program has evolved over time. |
Monday, March 4, 2019 3:42PM - 4:18PM |
C60.00003: Quantitative biology and the "hacker lab" : An interdisciplinary graduate program at UCSD Invited Speaker: Philbert Tsai The Quantitative Biology Program (Qbio) is a new integrative graduate specialization program that consists of a combination of theory classes, experimental labs, seminars, and critical reading courses. The program draws select graduate student from five different departments across three division at UCSD : physics, biology, chemistry, bioengineering, and biomedical sciences. In this talk, we will survey the program structure, but focus on two unique aspects of the program : the interactive critical reading program and the Qbio Hacker lab. |
Monday, March 4, 2019 4:18PM - 4:54PM |
C60.00004: From Probability, Dynamics, and Modeling to Biology, Physics, and Instrumentation: Constructing an Upper-Division Course That Majors and Nonmajors Actually Take Invited Speaker: Philip C Nelson Despite great progress in pedagogy, the actual content of upper-division Physics courses would in many cases be familiar to a time traveler from another century. I'll outline a strategy that I and others have used to create several new courses. Briefly, it involves: (1) Identifying an ongoing scientific revolution as a destination, then asking what classic frameworks are needed to go beyond mere description; (2) Identifying general-purpose skills that are needed for this and other current research; and (3) If necessary, asking what existing course could be remodeled to offer this new one within existing departmental constraints. For example, in a biological physics context the answers could involve (1) The current revolutions in optics; (2) Basic skills involving modeling, including probabilistic models; and (3) Revising the syllabus of "Modern Physics" or another such course. More broadly, I'll mention other case studies where this approach has worked, some rough metrics of success, and some new textbooks embodying these ideas. |
Monday, March 4, 2019 4:54PM - 5:30PM |
C60.00005: Introductory Physics for Life Sciences: Design Principles, Resources, and Community Invited Speaker: Catherine Crouch A national network of physics faculty have developed frameworks and extensive resources for teaching introductory physics to life science students in a way that highlights the value of physics in understanding biology, biochemistry, and medicine.1,2 These courses seek to give students practice in applying physics to analyze biologically significant phenomena. As more departments become interested in offering such courses, there is a need for curricular materials and support for faculty teaching such courses for the first time and adapting them to their local context. |
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