Please be advised that NSCI 181, “Light and Color” will be offered in the spring 2004 semester, and NSCI 182, “Acoustics” will not be offered this academic year.

CRN	93278	Distribution	E/G
Course No.	NSCI 108
Title	It's in the Genes
Professor	Michael Tibbetts
Schedule	Tu Th 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm ROSE 108

"It's in the genes" is a frequently used phrase when talking about a host of traits, including alcoholism and criminal behavior. This course will attempt to help students understand what it means to say something as complex as alcoholism or intelligence is in the genes. We will examine the cases for schizophrenia, alcoholism and diabetes as a means of illustrating the difficulty of determining the relative roles of genetics and the environment in determining ones’ predisposition to complex diseases. This will require some discussion of topics in Mendelian genetics, population genetics and quantitative genetics. Simple computer programs and fruit flies will be used as laboratory model systems for understanding basic concepts in these areas. The course will culminate in a critical analysis of excerpts from The Bell Curve, a controversial book published in 1994 that uses statistics to claim a significant, genetically determined, difference in intelligence between white and black Americans.

CRN	93208	Distribution	E/G
Course No.	NSCI 121
Title	Environment & Disease
Professor	Michael Tibbetts
Schedule	Tu Th 1:30 pm - 2:50 pm HEG 201 Wed 1:30 pm - 4:20 pm ROSE 306

Cross-listed: Environmental Studies

This course is intended for students who are interested in science but undecided about majoring in the sciences. It will cover four major topics - global warming and malaria, persistent organic pollutants, ozone depletion and skin cancer, and biodiversity loss and Lyme disease - from multiple perspectives. Faculty from each program within the division - Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Science - will participate in the course providing for an integrated scientific understanding of the topics. In addition, the laboratories will provide students with hands-on experiences in manipulating living organisms, computer modeling and statistical analysis. It is expected that students enrolled in this course will have had high school level biology, chemistry, physics and pre-calculus or their equivalent.

CRN	93209	Distribution	E/G
Course No.	NSCI 123 Q course
Title	Energy, Entropy & Information
Professor	Hilton Weiss
Schedule	Mon Wed 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm HEG 201

This course gives an introduction to the concepts of energy and entropy and their applications in the sciences. This entails a semi-quantitative consideration of the factors that govern energy conversion and utilization, and that predict the feasibility of all physical, chemical and biological events. The goal of the course is to develop an intuitive understanding of entropy and its universal implications. Connections to information theory and communication theory will be developed and the use of these as models for evaluating and understanding non-verbal communication will be discussed. Class attendance is required.

CRN	93210	Distribution	E/G
Course No.	NSCI 133
Title	Introduction to the Earth Sciences
Professor	Karen Ricciardi
Schedule	Mon Wed 3:00 pm - 4:20 pm HEG 106

Cross-listed: Environmental Studies

Knowledge about the earth's physical processes is necessary for understanding the changing environment in which we live. This course presents many of the broad concepts and fundamental principles of earth science and their applications to environmental study. The main focus of this course will be to examine active processes of the solid earth. Topics included will come from geologic sciences such as mineralogy, sedimentology, hydrology, plate tectonics, volcanology and seismology. The latter part of the course will consist of an overview of topics in atmospheric, oceanic and planetary studies. This will introduce students to the scientific principles that influence our planet, its rock, mountains, atmosphere and oceans. There will be three field trips throughout the semester to be scheduled on Saturdays.

CRN	93211	Distribution	E/G
Course No.	NSCI 135 Q course
Title	Curious Cooks
Professor	Simeen Sattar
Schedule	Mon Wed 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm ROSE 108

Why does broccoli turn bright green when it is dropped into boiling water? Does the order of mixing flour, water and butter when making pie crust matter? When is it necessary to preheat an oven? Why does bloom form on chocolate? Why are the color and texture of fish and beef so different? Answers to these questions derive from an understanding of the chemical and physical properties of the molecules that constitute food, the biology of the plants and animals, and effects of processes such as kneading, beating, and heating. This course begins with a science primer and proceeds to an examination of different foods and their preparation. Experiments are integrated throughout the class. It is hoped that students completing this course will view cookery from a scientific perspective.

CRN	93212	Distribution	E/G
Course No.	NSCI 140 Q course
Title	Forensic Chemistry
Professor	Craig Anderson
Schedule	Wed Fr 10:00 am - 11:20 am ALBEE 106 Fr 11:30 am - 1:00 pm HEG 204

This course will use a laboratory approach to explore topics in forensic science. The main focus will therefore be on learning and applying laboratory techniques and examining how they work. We will begin with simple experiments and move up to using state-of-the-art instrumentation. All necessary and relevant chemistry concerning structure, bonding, and reactivity will be covered, as no chemistry background is required. Analysis of trace evidence such as heavy metals, glass, and fibers are discussed through the basic concepts of chemistry, biology, and physics. Characterization of blood and other body fluids is applied to the analysis of alcohol, poisons, and drugs based upon principles of organic and analytical chemistry, and biochemistry. The laboratory provides an opportunity to learn forensic techniques such as chromatography (for ink and drug analysis, and separating mixtures), spectroscopy (for alcohol and drug analysis), and electrophoresis (for DNA fingerprinting). Authentic case studies will be presented.

CRN	93213	Distribution	A/E
Course No.	NSCI 162
Title	Cosmology
Professor	Peter Skiff
Schedule	Tu Th 1:30 pm - 2:50 pm HEG 102

The course will be a descriptive review of the astrophysical theories of the origin and development of the early universe. The “standard model”, the so-called “big bang theory” will be examined in detail, with attendant evidence and theories of particles, fields, energy and entropy, and space-time geometry. Current models of supernovae, quasars, black and white holes, dark matter, quantum foam, and recent alternative models of super symmetry and superstrings will be reviewed. Various historical notions of time, space, matter, and cause will frame the discussions. No prior experience in collegiate science is required. This course can be taken for distribution credit in science, but does not meet the requirement for computational or laboratory experience.

CRN	93214	Distribution	A/E
Course No.	NSCI 222
Title	Physical Science before Newton
Professor	Peter Skiff
Schedule	Tu Th 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm HEG 102

Cross-listed: History and Philosophy of Science

Related interest: Classical Studies

An introduction to the history and philosophy of science. T. S. Kuhn's model of historical progress will be used to examine selected parts of discourses involving pre‑Socratic philosophy, mythology, Copernican astronomy, Galileo's trial, and Newton's philosophy. A critique of method will introduce modern historiographic and philosophic controversy, which will continue in the sequel courses, Natural Science 223 and 304. Designed as a core course for studies in history, philosophy, and sociology of science; no prior mathematical or technical expertise will be presumed at this level. Readings include excerpts from the Enuma Elish, the Milesians, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. Secondary commentary by Nahm, Butterfield, Kuhn, Munitz, and others. No prior mathematical or technical expertise will be presumed at this level.