Discovering Science Through Nature: Exploring the Bard Lands

Professor: Emily White  

Course Number: SCI 113

CRN Number: 10321

Class cap: 16

Credits: 4

Schedule/Location:

 Tue      10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Reem Kayden Center 114/115

   Thurs    10:10 AM - 12:10 PM Reem Kayden Center 114/115

Distributional Area:

LS  Laboratory Science   

Bard’s campus includes approximately 1000 acres of land that borders the Hudson River estuary and provides access to a range of habitats including marshes, swamps, streams, forests, and fields. The natural areas that make up and surround campus are impacted by the human-built environment, offering innovative opportunities for students to explore natural science while observing and documenting environmental change. In this course, students will use the Bard Ecology Field Station as a resource and launching-off point for an interdisciplinary scientific investigation of the Bard lands. Methods from field ecology, natural history, environmental monitoring, analytical chemistry, and sustainability science, will be used to conduct work at campus study sites such as the Saw Kill, Annandale Dam, Tivoli Bays, the Hudson River, the Bard Farm, and Montgomery Place. ​​Using the Bard lands as a microcosm, this course will address topics such as land-use planning, drinking water procurement, wastewater processing, food production, hydropower generation, and biodiversity protection. In addition to sessions in the classroom and laboratory, students will walk and spend time outdoors on campus and the adjacent Tivoli Bays Wildlife Management Area. Assignments will include readings, keeping a field journal, field reports, data visualizations, and a final field guide project.

Paint and Examination of Paintings

Professor: Simeen Sattar  

Course Number: SCI 123

CRN Number: 10064

Class cap: 20

Credits: 4

Schedule/Location:

 Tue      10:10 AM - 12:10 PM Hegeman 201

   Thurs    10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Hegeman 201 / Rose Laboratories 205

Distributional Area:

LS  Laboratory Science   

This course is about the composition of pigments, dyes and paints, the chemistry underlying selected techniques (e.g. Attic vase and fresco painting), and scientific methods for examining paintings, with an emphasis on case studies. As light and atoms and molecules are central to paints and techniques for examining paintings, the course begins with these foundational topics. Laboratory work includes synthesis and analysis of pigments and dyes, preparation of binders and paints, and fresco painting. Students registering for this class commit to reviewing elementary topics from high school chemistry and taking an online quiz before the start of the semester.

Life and Death of Stars

Professor: Simeen Sattar  

Course Number: SCI 143

CRN Number: 10065

Class cap: 20

Credits: 4

Schedule/Location:

Mon       10:10 AM - 12:10 PM Hegeman 201

  Wed     10:10 AM - 1:10 PM Hegeman 201 / Albee 100

Distributional Area:

LS  Laboratory Science   

This course is about the life-stages of stars, from their formation in clouds of gas and dust to their often-spectacular ends.  Everything we know about stars comes from the light we receive from them, so a major theme of this course is how we decipher the information contained in the light they radiate.  This requires devoting some initial time to light and atoms.  After this foundation, we will study the nearest star, the Sun, in some detail.  We then consider the classification and evolution of stars of all types.  The laboratory component consists of working with astronomical data and spreadsheets.  Problem-solving involving algebra is integral to this course, so good math skills are a prerequisite for enjoyment and success in this course.  Students registered for the course commit to reviewing basic algebra skills, scientific notation and unit conversions through online worksheets and taking a quiz before the first class. Prerequisite:  Good passing score on Part I of the Math Placement.