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Microorganisms represent the largest uncharacterized portion of life on Earth.  Bacteria, protists, algae and fungi are often difficult to see in the environment, but comprise the majority of biodiversity.  The unique metabolic capabilities of the bacteria and archaea greatly impact the composition of our soil, air, water and rocks and play key roles in biogeochemical and nutrient cycles.  This course will focus on current understanding of the diversity of microbes and their roles in the environment.

A field biology-ecology course with laboratory for non-majors emphasizing the plants and animals of the Northeast. The course focuses on ecological factors and processes affecting individual organisms, communities and ecosystems. Students visit a variety of aquatic and terrestrial habitats to study local ecosystems and to learn the natural history of local plants and animals and how to identify them. Students also learn how to conduct a scientific study and record observational data.

This course is the second of a two-semester sequence providing a systematic study of the ideas and discoveries that transformed physics in the twentieth century. Topics in this course include the quantum mechanical model of hydrogen, statistical mechanics, and applications such as solid-state physics, nuclear structure and reactions, and elementary particles. There is one laboratory per week in addition to classwork. Prerequisites: MATH 205 and a grade of 2.0 or higher in PHYS 221. Offered Spring semester only.

Climate is perhaps the single most important and pervasive factor controlling global ecosystems and human well-being. This interdisciplinary course examines global climate from a historical perspective, beginning with the formation of the solar system and continuing through geologic time to the present.

This course will emphasize the research, analysis, and exploration of natural patterns and systems as a model for contemporary design. After researching recent biomimicry developments in industry, the sciences, and other fields, students will employ several design media (including but not limited to: drawing, photography, digital modeling, and 3-D printing) as an analytical method in their investigations of nature's "systemness." In the words of Dr. Janine Benyus, after 3.8 billion years of research and development, nature knows what works, what is appropriate, and what lasts.