Department of Biology

Welcome

The main office for the Department of Biology is located in Room 175 on the first floor of Schmucker Science North. If you have questions, you may contact us at: 610-436-2538

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Biology Highlights: Fall 2008

Frank Fish presented a paper “Hydrodynamics of dolphin propulsion” at the 2nd Symposium on Voith Schneider Technology held June 4-6 in Heidenheim, Germany. He was featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer article, “Sea of Possibilities” discussing his research and how he developed a new wind turbine drawn from inspiration from the humpback whale’s flippers. In July, he presented an invited talk co-authored with T. Williams, T. Wei, and Paul Legac, “Vortex mechanics associated with propulsion and control in whales and dolphins” in the symposium “Linking Mechanics and Energetics” at the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology held in Marseille, France. Professor Fish co-authored the article entitled “Energetics of swimming by the ferret: Consequences of forelimb paddling” with R. Baudinette in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A (2008) 150:126-143. He was quoted on the MSNBC website, Technology & Science, in an article on humpback whales.

New BioFaculty: Fall 2008

We welcome Dr. Stefanie A. Boettger as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology. Dr. Boettger received her PhD in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Hampshire. She has taught at the University of New Hampshire and at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center. She has also served as summer faculty for the Marine Science Consortium at Wallops Island, VA. Her research interests include the physiology and developmental biology of echinoderms, particularly sea urchins, and marine systems as models for human cancer treatment. She has many publications and presentations on her work.

Teaching Students & Educators at West Chester University

During June 2008, Dr Giovanni Casotti and Dr Maureen Knabb, Professors of Biology at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, hosted life science educators from across North America to share curriculum ideas, teaching experiments and laboratory techniques. As teachers to at least 400 students every year, Dr Casotti and Dr Knabb are well-qualified to share what does and doesn’t work in the laboratory classroom.

Dr Casotti and Dr Knabb use PowerLab teaching systems with Chart (now LabChart) software in three of their courses. West Chester has been using their systems with the Macintosh operating system for the past three years, and runs laboratories using inquiry approaches to learning, "where students take ownership of their experiments because they are the ones coming up with ideas to test".

For the past two years Dr Casotti and Dr Knabb, with their colleague Loretta Reiser-Danner, have presented conference papers with results from implementing this learning approach as, "Inquiry-based learning in physiology laboratories using computer technology" in the FASEB Journal.

Careers in Biology

According to the AIBS website "Pursuing a career in biology can be immensely rewarding and exciting. Studying biology teaches us to ask questions, make observations, evaluate evidence, and solve problems. Biologists learn how living things work, how they interact with one another, and how they evolve. They may study cells under a microscope, insects in a rainforest, viruses that affect human beings, plants in a greenhouse, or lions in the African grasslands. Their work increases our understanding about the natural world in which we live and helps us address issues of personal well being and worldwide concern, such as environmental depletion, threats to human health, and maintaining viable and abundant food supplies."

For more information, download the AIBS Careers Brochure , or visit the AIBS web site to learn about career opportunities, preparation, schools, job outlook, salaries, and much more!

Ecology Concentration Brochure

Thinking about Ecology as a major? Learn about the current requirements and opportunities for students in the Department of Biology's Ecology Concentration from the following brochure:

Ecology Brochure

Biology Computer Laboratory

Scheduling for the Biology Computer Laboratory is now available on-line. Please visit the BCL Webpage to make, change or check your reservations or to check the schedule to see what open hours are available for student use. All scheduling and reservations are on a first come first serve basis so make your reservations early!