Bio 2289 (formerly 295)

Introduction to Undergraduate Research

Syllabus

Fall 2008

Meets: Tuesday, 3:30-4:45 in BioPhysics 131

Instructor: Dr. Chuck Smith Office: BioPharm 412

Office Phone: 486-4158 Office Hours: By appointment

Email: charles.smith@uconn.edu (Your emails to me MUST contain the phrase “Bio 2289” in the subject line; email received without that phrase, and especially those with a blank subject line, will be DELETED without being read.)

HuskyCT: I will be using HuskyCT to keep track of grades and to post notices pertinent to the course.

Course materials and presenters schedule will be posted on HuskyCT

Goals of this course;

    1. Produce a resume that can be submitted to a perspective employer

    2. Provide an opportunity for students to learn about on-going research in the various biological departments on         campus

    3. Help students focus on specific areas of interest and research opportunities as future undergraduates

    4. Familiarize you with faculty and research in the areas of organismal biology – biodiversity, conservation     biology, ecology, and evolution. Learn how researchers ask questions, what resources are available, and how to go about “doing” science.

Grading:

Seminar 5-minute papers* 45

Science news summaries 30

Leading discussion 15

Science news critique 10

100 points total

Letter grades will be assigned on a 10-point numerical basis (i.e. 90-100 = A).

Class Schedule:

Date	Speaker	Topic	Check Before Class
Jan 28	Intro	Class structure; grading
Feb 4	Dr. Robin Chazdon*	Beyond deforestation: Forest Regeneration in NE Costa Rica	[[1]]
Feb 11	Dr. Jane O'Donnell*	Tour of the EEB Research Collections Facility	MEET IN THE LOBBY OF THE BIOSCIENCES/PHYSICS BUILDING [[2]]
Feb 18	Tobias Landberg*	Graduate research; salamander evolution, development and function	[[3]]
Feb 25	Presenters from the Office of Undergraduate Research and The Office of National Scholarships	Support at UConn for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship	[[4]], [[5]]
Mar 3	Susan Herrick*	Graduate Research; Bullfrogs and green frogs: Living with the enemy, successfully
Mar 17	Dr. Eric Schultz*	Student Research Projects in the Fish Lab	[[6]]
Mar 24	Dr. Kurt Schwenk*	How lizards feed and snakes smell: functional morphology of reptiles	[[7]]
Mar 31	Clint Morse	Botany research in EEB: Tour of the research facilities	[[8]]
Apr 7	Carrie Fyler*	Adventures in Parasitology: Systematic Biology of Tapeworms Parasitizing Sharks, Skates & Rays	[[9]]
Apr 14	Dr. Chris Simon*	Using molecules to understand species. An example using periodical cicadas	[[10]]
Apr 21	Dr. Elizabeth Jockusch*	Evolution and development of beetle antennae	[[11]]
Apr 28	Wrap up/Discussion	What did you learn? How will you use it?	BRING YOUR TWO-PAGE SCIENCE NEWS CRITIQUE TO CLASS!

REQUIRED TEXT: The New York Times, Science Section: Every week I will expect you to come to class having read the previous week's Science Times section of the New York Times newspaper (Science Times is published every Tuesday). If you are an Honors Student living in Honors Housing, a limited number of hard copies of the NYT will be available for free in common areas. If you are not living in Honors Housing, you can obtain a subscription to the NYT at (discounted) student rates at the Coop Newstand in the library. Here's a link to the student subscription form: [12] The Science Times section can also be read (along with most of the rest of the paper) online at www.nytimes.com.

Assignment Descriptions"

Resume A resume should provide the target audience with relevant information in a well-organized and easy-to-read format. It shouldn't be a padded list of everything you've ever done! The idea will be to provide information useful to a prospective employer - including mentor/PI in a research lab. Check online for potential formats/

Seminar 5-minute papers (nine at 5 points ea): At the end of class sessions we will take 5 minutes to write SHORT papers summarizing what we learned from that day’s lecture. These will be structured around a set of questions, provided in class by me, that will help you assess each lecture.

Science news summaries (six at 5 points ea): At the end of class sessions we will also take 5 minutes (for a total of 10 minutes) to write SHORT summaries, again structured around set questions provided in class, of science news drawn from the previous Tuesday's New York Times Science Times section. You may use any article from that day that you wish, but it must be drawn from that day's NYT. You may bring your copy of the paper/article to class for reference, but be forewarned that there will not be enough time in class to both read your article, and complete the assignment. If you are finding it challenging to get to class early enough to do your science summary, you can retrieve the form earlier in the day here, print it out, complete it and turn it in NO LATER THAN THE END OF THE CLASS FOR WHICH IT IS DATED. The questions will change week to week; each week's form will be posted no later than noon of the day of the class for which it is dated.

One-page Lab Papers' - The goal of this course is to help you find out about research at UCONN. There are many more faculty doing research here, in many dpeartments, than can possibly come give lectures to the class. To encourage you to find out about the diverse research underway around you, there are two one-page "lab papers" due this semester. Each paper should be a (double-spaced, one-page, 12-point font) paper that has the following components:

 A brief description of a faculty member's research that interests you

 A brief description of an idea for a research project you could pursue in that faculty member's lab. This is not to be a thoroughly-thought-out project, but rather an idea you could discuss in a meeting with the faculty member. The idea should make it clear to your prospective mentor that you have looked at his or her web page. absorbed the type of work he or she is doing, and that you have interests that coincide with their work. The faculty member would be even more impressed if it was apparent that you had read one or more of his/her journal articles!

The two papers should focus on faculty in two different departments. Obvious candidate departments are the three biology departments:

Physiology and Neurobiology: www.pnb.uconn.edu Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: www.eeb.uconn.edu Molecular and Cell Biology: www.mcb.uconn.edu

Academic Rules/Conduct: All students should be aware of the guidelines for the Student Conduct Code, plagarism, etc. Section VI of the Conduct Code is available at http://www.dosa.uconn.edu, by clicking on Judicial Affairs, then Student Code, then Part VI: Academic Integrity in Undergraduate Education and Research. Also see the link to Judicial Process FAQ.