How well does the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory curriculum prepare students for academic research, or for a bench job in industry? Running experiments that are more representative of research chemistry has the potential to better equip students for working in a research laboratory, while at the same time giving them insight into a…

Environmental forensics is the application of knowledge from geosciences and chemistry in a legal setting, e.g., to determine the origin and consequences of contamination events. Teaching environmental forensics requires reactivating prior knowledge from different fields of natural sciences, filling knowledge gaps, and connecting pieces of…

Writing as both instructors and students who worked together in the undergraduate course "Water Justice," we reflect on the limits and possibilities of engaging in anticolonial teaching-learning practices within the ongoing contexts of settler colonialism and racial violence that shapes universities. We describe how we designed…

In this article, the author describes two lessons in which students applied the scientific knowledge learned from studying offshore oil drilling to construct a fact-based argument on the topic and then communicate it to their policy makers, since public commentary was solicited. The students practiced using their scientific knowledge to…

Evaluation policies set an important frame of reference for how evaluations are implemented. Despite the central influence that policies play in how evaluations are conducted, little empirical work has been conducted to better understand how these policies are interpreted and implemented. This paper describes the findings of case study evaluation…

The significance of biorepositories has been known for many years but the latest advances in clinical and translational research and increased collaborations among investigators have made biorepositories even more prominent. Biorepositories collect and store human tissue and serum samples used in both the research and treatment of disease. In…

Chemicals entering the atmosphere come from a number of sources but, in broad terms, are either from human activity or from the biosphere (natural systems). What happens to these chemicals once in the atmosphere is very important, of course. If they are toxic they can impact on the health of humans, animals and natural ecosystems. Therefore, it is…

Undergraduate biology majors are often overwhelmed by and underinformed about the diversity and complexity of biological research that is conducted on research-intensive campuses. We present a program that introduces undergraduates to the diversity and scope of biological research and also provides unique teaching opportunities for graduate…

Chemists continue to work at the forefront of materials science research. Recent advances include application of bioengineering to produce plastics from renewable biomass instead of petroleum, generation of paper-based batteries, and development of phototriggerable microcapsules for chemical delivery. In this article, the author provides summaries…

Today's doctoral programs continue to prepare students for a traditional academic career path despite the inadequate supply of research-focused faculty positions. We advocate for a broader doctoral curriculum that prepares trainees for a wide range of science-related career paths. In support of this argument, we describe data from our survey of…

This paper offers an integrative approach to the increasingly complex puzzle of autistic spectrum disorders. The author demonstrates how the work of one group of neuroscientists in Parma, on a special class of brain cells called "mirror neurons", and the work of researchers at the University of California in San Diego, applying these…

The conservation and well-being of exotic animals is core to the mission of zoos, aquariums and many small nonprofit wildlife groups. Increasingly, these organizations are committed to scientific research, both basic and applied. To ascertain the current state of the libraries that support their efforts, librarians at the San Diego Zoo conducted…

Forensic entomologists utilize insects (particularly flies) to establish the time interval between death and body discovery. This important piece of information may answer questions as to the circumstances of the individual's death and insects are now routinely utilized and recognized as being important forensic indicators. Of extreme importance…

The merits of involving undergraduates in research activities have been publicized in numerous reports and have been promoted through various programs. Moreover, the value of offering research experiences specifically to first and second year students has been lauded. Undergraduate research is generally accepted to be a vehicle through which…

The broad vision of an environmental research institute that conducts regional research to inform local decision making has proven to be compelling.