BY695/795 Scientific Communication (Fall 2016, Spring 2018)
Becoming a professional biologist is challenging and requires mastering a variety of skills. This course complements the biological knowledge graduate students gain from other courses and their thesis research by providing training, experience, and critical feedback in the following areas. Students will gain valuable experience in:
• Science and social media
• Professional presentations (oral, PowerPoint, and poster)
• Grant writing
• Curriculum vitae
• Peer-review system and giving/receiving constructive criticism
• Scientific ethics
• Interviewing for graduate schools and employment
Here are related posts written by Stacy and her students for The Molecular Ecologist:
Aida, V (2017) Mapping genomes and navigating behavior for wildlife conservation.
Hayes, M (2017) Like turtles, terrapin research moves a little slow.
Latimer, M (2017) Small Molecules, Big Differences.
Roegner, M (2017) Molting on the molecular level: how blue crabs become soft-shell crabs.
Adkins, S (2017) Dishing out art: 'Soiling' our microbiology curriculum.
Heiser, S (2017) Have we got the power?
Krueger-Hadfield, SA (2017) I think we're NOT alone now.
Becoming a professional biologist is challenging and requires mastering a variety of skills. This course complements the biological knowledge graduate students gain from other courses and their thesis research by providing training, experience, and critical feedback in the following areas. Students will gain valuable experience in:
• Science and social media
• Professional presentations (oral, PowerPoint, and poster)
• Grant writing
• Curriculum vitae
• Peer-review system and giving/receiving constructive criticism
• Scientific ethics
• Interviewing for graduate schools and employment
Here are related posts written by Stacy and her students for The Molecular Ecologist:
Aida, V (2017) Mapping genomes and navigating behavior for wildlife conservation.
Hayes, M (2017) Like turtles, terrapin research moves a little slow.
Latimer, M (2017) Small Molecules, Big Differences.
Roegner, M (2017) Molting on the molecular level: how blue crabs become soft-shell crabs.
Adkins, S (2017) Dishing out art: 'Soiling' our microbiology curriculum.
Heiser, S (2017) Have we got the power?
Krueger-Hadfield, SA (2017) I think we're NOT alone now.
BY429/491/629 Evolutionary Processes (Fall 2017, Spring 2018)
This course will introduce the history of evolutionary thought and modern evolutionary theory. Our discussions will cover (but are not limited to) the history of life, mechanisms of evolutionary change, adaptation, speciation, life-history evolution, sexual selection and molecular evolution. We will also discuss historical and contemporary studies of evolution on a wide variety of topics and organisms.
It's been said that "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" (Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1973). Why? We'll consider that question in depth in this course, taking a look at the science of biological evolution from a number of perspectives. We will follow the Zimmer textbook closely and will read a few other sources as well. A lot of what we do will involve in-class discussions and problem solving of the readings as well as applying concepts to novel questions, and you will be expected to actively work with the course material to develop an intuitive understanding of evolution. Some overarching themes we will cover are:
This course will introduce the history of evolutionary thought and modern evolutionary theory. Our discussions will cover (but are not limited to) the history of life, mechanisms of evolutionary change, adaptation, speciation, life-history evolution, sexual selection and molecular evolution. We will also discuss historical and contemporary studies of evolution on a wide variety of topics and organisms.
It's been said that "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" (Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1973). Why? We'll consider that question in depth in this course, taking a look at the science of biological evolution from a number of perspectives. We will follow the Zimmer textbook closely and will read a few other sources as well. A lot of what we do will involve in-class discussions and problem solving of the readings as well as applying concepts to novel questions, and you will be expected to actively work with the course material to develop an intuitive understanding of evolution. Some overarching themes we will cover are:
- Evolution is a necessary property of any finite, self-replicating system.
- Evolution is both (mathematical) theory and (measureable) fact.
- Evolution is not a "deep time" question, but happening constantly, measurably, around us every day.
- Evolution ≠ natural selection.
- Evolution occurs because of random chance, but yields non-random outcomes
- The theoretical framework of biological evolution is broadly applicable, with influence on computer science, economics, medicine, psychology, politics, etc.