TSSP Course Descriptions

Tulane Science Scholars Program

Courses - Spring 2008

Courses will involve a combination of lecture and hands-on experience and will include the following topics. Each student will take two courses over the Spring semester:

History of Life

Bruce E. Fleury, Ph.D., Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Covers the "discovery of time", which leads up to a discussion on creationism and intelligent design. It's a nice peek at how scientific history intertwines with intellectual and social history and how it can be constrained by religious beliefs...Shows how Darwin's revolution in biology and Lyell's revolution in geology arose in part from the gradual discovery of how old the Earth really was. Several notable female scientists are restored to glory into the bargain, including Mary Anning, Mary Buckland, and Mary Lyell. “Scientific theories are models of reality constructed by human beings, and these models inevitably reflect, and are used to endorse, the values and interests of those who create them.” (Peter Bowler)

Explorations in Animal Behavior

Tracey Werner Sherry, Ph.D.

Why do animals behave the way they do? What can we learn about human behavior by studying how animals behave? In two four-hour sessions, students will learn basic observational methods and other field techniques through hands-on investigations of sexual differences between animals, territoriality, courtship and feeding behavior. Weather appropriate attire, sturdy footwear (no flip-flops), and bag lunch required. Field sites being considered include Audubon Zoo, Audubon Park Colonial Wading Bird Colony, Aquarium of the Americas, and Lakeside Mall (the human species). A continuation of this course will be offered in Session 4.

An Experiment to Measure the Effects of Alcohol on the Behavior of Rats

Dr. Thomas Hebert, Psychology and Neuroscience

Dr. Gary Dohanich, Psychology and Neuroscience

Students will learn how to design, conduct, and analyze an experiment using live rats to show the effects of alcohol on memory and coordination. Rats will be trained to find a hidden escape platform in a water maze and then treated with a low dose of alcohol to determine if their memory for the platform location is impaired. The effects of alcohol on coordination also will be determined by measuring the ability of rats to maintain their balance on a slowly rotating rod after treatment with alcohol. Data collected from these measures will be graphed and analyzed to allow students to quantify the effects of alcohol on memory and coordination.

Taking on the Energy Crunch: Improving Power Grid Efficiency and Reliability

Maryclaire Peterson, Ph.D Electrical Engineering, Entergy

As new technology continues to become available, energy consumption is drastically increasing and our dependence on reliable and consistent power delivery is becoming an important concern. Therefore, in an effort reduce the global energy shortage and improve energy efficiency, renewable energy resources, such as wind and sunlight, are becoming popular alternatives. In this session, we will look at the limitations of renewable energy resources and explore some other techniques that make the current power system more reliable. Using the Matlab software package, we will implement several simple power conversion schemes and observe their positive impact on system reliability. We will also discuss the Northeast blackout of 2003: what went wrong and what measures engineers have taken to avoid future problems.

Explorations in Animal Behavior

Tracey Werner Sherry, Ph.D.

Courses - Fall 2007

Courses will involve a combination of lecture and hands-on experience and will include the following topics. Each student will take two courses over the Fall semester:

Global Warming: Energy and Atmospheric Change
Bruce E. Fleury, Ph.D., Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University
An introduction to the ways in which people use natural and manmade sources of energy, including the origin of fossil fuels, the history of their use by human societies, and the impact of the use of fossil fuels on the environment. Alternative sources of power will be considered, including nuclear and solar power, and hydrogen fuel cell technology. The nature and importance of global warming will be considered in detail, including an introduction to how past climate history is measured, the nature of the Ice Ages, and the role of clouds as sources of uncertainty in global warming models. The series will conclude with an examination of the effects that global warming will have on New Orleans.

Creativity in Engineering

John C. Prindle, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Despite what you might think, all fields of engineering combine the rigor of the sciences with the creativity of art. Many of the world’s most important engineering inventions have resulted from the creative application of one or more of the sciences. This session will involve teams of students designing/building a device from everyday materials (e.g. balloons, paperclips, etc.) to achieve a specific objective. At the end of the course, there will be a competition to see which team’s device best achieves the objective.

Experience in Cancer (includes tour of Tulane Medical School)
Kamilah Jackson, M.D./Ph.D. candidate, M.S. Cell and Molecular Biology

This class will cover the basic mechanisms of cancer and the normal processes associated with it. It will also cover the causes of the five most common types of cancer: lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, colon/rectal cancer and, non-meleanomic skin cancer. A hands-on experiment will be done in methods to detect cancer and a tour of the medical school will be given. After a discussion on medical treatments, we will also try to come up with new and innovative ways to treat cancer based on the knowledge gained in the course. If you have ever wondered why cancer is so deadly, this is the time to find out.

Robotics in Biomedical Engineering

Justin Cooper & Minhua Qiu, Ph.D. candidates, Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical engineering will be one of the most exciting and fastest growing fields of the 21^st century. It is an interdisciplinary field that incorporates principles of chemistry, physics, biology, math, and engineering. Within our lifetimes biomedical engineers will develop many new technologies that will change the way health care is administered throughout the world, ranging from growing tissues and organs in culture to designing more advanced prosthetics to improving techniques for diagnosing and treating diseases. At the beginning of each class we will briefly describe a different concentration of biomedical engineering (bioelectronics, biomechanics, cell and tissue engineering, and biomaterials) and talk about what kind of advances these fields could see in the near future. After the introduction, the majority of the class will be spent building robots from scratch using the Parallax BOE-bot kit. Robotics has many applications to biomedical engineering, ranging from prosthetics to large-scale diagnostic equipment in hospitals. We’ll get some hands-on experience with robotics by building the bots and programming them to perform several challenging tasks.

Courses - Spring 2007

Courses will involve a combination of lecture and hands-on experience and will include the following topics. Each student will take two courses over the Spring semester:

Investigate Real-Life Biology with Technology
Jewel J. Reuter, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor to Montana State University Masters in Science Education Program
Research Associate Fifteen Degree Laboratory, Louisiana State University
Editor of American Biology Teacher Journal Classroom Technology Reviews Section
Instructor and Professional Development Consultant to Louisiana Virtual School
Use sensors, cameras, and software to collect and analyze data about real-life problems associated with cellular respiration and human physiology. Conduct investigations with microbes in Kimhcee (Korean sauerkraut), microbes in soil, yeast in bread, meal worms, and Mexican jumping beans. Also, do investigations on human physiology that concern heart rate, oxygen gas and human respiration, EKG, muscle strength, and muscle fatigue. Learn to create simple Web pages to report and communicate the results of the investigation. Students will integrate the learning of important biology concepts with current technology.

Explorations in Animal Behavior

Tracey Werner Sherry, Ph.D.

Spectroscopy & Nanotechnology (Chemistry and Chemical Engineering)
Infrared Spectroscopy: Applications in Chemistry and Forensics
Russ Schmehl, Ph.D., Chemistry Department
One of the most useful techniques for "fingerprinting" molecules and materials is infrared spectroscopy. It has become very widely used because of the tremendous flexibility in sampling and the ability to rapidly do signal averaging. In two sessions we will discuss how an
infrared spectrophotometer works and use the instrument to observe its operation and illustrate its use in forensic analysis.
An Experience in Nanotechnology
Vijay John, Ph.D., Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering,
Jibao He, Coordinated Instrumentation Facility
Jingjing Zhan, Ph.D graduate student.
Students will receive hands-on experience in making nanostructured materials, through an interesting aerosol method. The implications of nanoscience to future technological developments will be shown through this example where a gram of material has enough surface area to cover a football field. Students will also be exposed to electron microscopy where we can actually visualize the interior nanostructure of the materials they have made. Through this experience students will gain an appreciation for nanotechnology and its implications to health, the environment, and to energy technologies.

Experience Biomedical Engineering!

Natalie Guthrey, Ph.D. graduate student

In these sessions, we will explore concepts in the field of Biomedical Engineering. Each class will begin with a brief lesson on an engineering and biologic concept accompanied by a fun experiment where we will see the concept in action! Each lesson will conclude with real-world applications and problems associated with the lesson. Example topics include prediction and measurement of lung capacity, building a circuit to measure your heart rate, fluid flow within your body, and how to engineer cells and tissues.

Courses - Spring 2005

Courses will involve a combination of lecture and hands-on experience and will include the following topics. Each student will take two courses over the Spring semester:

Earth's Moon: A Case Study
Emily Martin, Dept. Earth & Environmental Sciences

This course will begin with the history of the moon, from Greek myth through the Apollo program. A brief introduction to the solar system and to the discipline of geology will follow, and then the formation of the moon will be discussed. Finally, the importance the general population of studying the moon will be talked about.

Electronic Structure Study of Molecules and Solids
Dr. Balamurugan Desinghu, Chemistry Department

The course will begin with basics of quantum nature of electrons followed by many electron problems. The state-of-the-art electronic structure methods with an emphasis on density functional theory will be explained. Calculations performed on few molecules and solids will be demonstrated..

Introduction to Epidemiology
Dwana Johnson, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

This course is an introduction to epidemiology and to the epidemiologic approach to problems of health and disease. The basic principles and methods of epidemiology are presented together with some of the applications of epidemiology to public health and clinical practice. Lecture one will focuses on the epidemiologic approach to understanding disease and to developing the basis for interventions to improve its natural history. Additionally, the history, origin, definition, and the importance of epidemiology are presented to the students. Lecture two will discuss how disease is transmitted and acquired. Some measures used to assess the frequency of disease are presented in lecture three. Lastly, lecture four will deal with the use of epidemiology to identify the causes of diseases. The design of cohort, case-control, and other types of studies will be discussed as well.

Snowball Earth
David McGee, Marion Abramson High School

Is it possible that at one point in the Earth's history the entire surface of the planet - both land and oceans - was frozen over? That's precisely what some researchers think happened between 600 and 700 million years ago. In this course we'll examine in depth the evidence behind this controversial theory as well as competing theories about what really happened. Along the way, activities, discussions, and lectures will assist students in deepening their understanding of plate tectonics, the chemistry of the atmosphere and oceans, and the processes that govern climate change to this day. By the end of the course, students will have a better sense of how Earth has changed through time and how it might change in the future.

Courses - Fall 2004

Earth Science and Society
Bruce Sherman, Dept. Earth & Environmental Sciences

Many people think of geologists as people who simply look at rocks, look for oil, or dig up dinosaur bones. There is much more to this field of science and geology is central to many branches of society today. In this course, students will explore various areas of earth science such as earth materials, natural resources and environmental concerns, natural disasters, and how geology impacts areas of society such as anthropology and human health. Students will learn such things as basic mineral and rock identification, how to find the epicenter of an earthquake, what makes a good aquifer, and how geology has played a role in human history. The course contain some basic laboratory work.

Introduction to Neurobiology
Dr. Dr. Alexander Komendantov, Center for Computational Science

The course will introduce to the structure and principles underlying function of nervous system including cell membranes, neurons and brains. The course will include the basic properties of biological membranes, the structure and function of single nerve cell, the generation of nerve impulses, the interactions of neurons within and between neuronal networks. The lectures will include examples of neuronal modeling and computations.

Time and Diversity in Tropical Rainforests
Dr. William Balee, Department of Anthropology

The focus is on Amazonia, and students will treat major hypotheses for origins of species diversification, why tropical rainforests are so rich in species, and what if any impacts humans have had over time on the distribution of this diversity.

Silicon in Nature and Technology: A Quick Tour
Dr. Mark Fink, Department of Anthropology

Silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and is an essential cornerstone of semiconductor technology. Silicon is also the nearest cousin to carbon from which all known life is based. With this short tour of silicon, we will explore the chemistry of this element with attention to silicate minerals, silicon based semiconductors (from sand to computers), silicone polymers (caulking materials to medical devices), as well as the chemistry of multiply-bonded silicon compounds (why isn’t there silicon-based life here on Earth?). These topics will be covered by lectures, demonstrations, and short laboratory exercises.

Courses - Fall 2003

Courses will involve a combination of lecture and hands-on experience and will include the following topics. Each student will take two courses over the Fall semester:

Data Acquisition and Scientific Computing
Dr. Cedric F. Walker, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering

Most research experiments, especially in Biomedical Engineering, incorporate computers that capture signals from sensors. These signals then need to be analyzed, compared, and plotted. Students will learn the basics of digital signal processing using LabVIEW (www.ni.com) software and data acquisition hardware, and build a computerized temperature sensing system.

Proteins: Past, Present and Future
Dr. Bilikallahalli Muralidhara and Ms. Cathy Higgins, Department of Chemistry

Proteins are the cellular laborers. Their synthesis, transportation, structure and folding mainly decide the fate of the cell, and in turn, the living being. From almost a century now, understanding protein structure- function is the primary concern in biology. This course will highlight why proteins are so important with the emphasis on structure, folding and function. Students will be exposed to laboratory experiments and computation

Cluster Science
Ms. Lisa Lyn, Department of Chemistry

Much is known about the properties of the solid, gas, and liquid states of matter. A solid piece of gold is comprised of many gold atoms. If one were to "cut-up" all the bonds in a piece of solid gold, one would be left with atoms. Clearly, an atom of gold does not have the same properties of a solid piece of gold. The question that puzzled physicists was, what are the properties of those "tiny" pieces of gold that are intermediates of the solid and individual atoms of gold. Somewhere in the process of reducing the size of the solid gold to atoms, a change in properties occurred. These "intermediate" species are called clusters. Clusters are comprised of a few to a few thousand atoms or molecules. Chemists, physicists, and material scientists have now been conducting research in cluster science over the past three decades.

This course will cover the significant and most recent experimental findings in cluster research, such as metal clusters behaving like an atom or the recently discovered reactivity of gold clusters when solid gold is known to be extremely unreactive. Topics to be discussed include time-of-flight mass spectrometry, cluster sources, lasers, nuclear physics, atomic and nuclear shell models, and photoelectron spectroscopy. The basics to understanding the experiments will be provided and a visit to a physical chemistry laboratory will be included.

Cooking with Concrete
Mr. Adam Ridge, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Why should you feel safe on the 40th floor of a concrete skyscraper or when you are crossing the Mississippi River on a steel bridge? This course examines the materials that we use to build the structures that we encounter every day. The emphasis will be on concrete and steel with some discussion given to high tech materials like carbon fiber. Structural properties of the materials will be discussed in lecture and tested in the lab. The first week students will pour concrete cylinders from their own recipes. The cylinders will be tested to failure in the following weeks.

Course Selection

[home] [bulletin board] [overview] [apply][courses] [schedule][tulane home]