Meeting times: 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM Tuesdays Room: CV101
More Information on the World Wide Web at: (This page will change
weekly and should be consulted for additional reading assignments etc.)
http://Physics.ius.edu/MLS/NatSciMLS.html
Outline of the course:
First meeting: Overview of the course, handouts and reading assignments, some instructions for using the internet to access information for the course.
Each instructor will teach two sessions on a single topic (as listed below) except for Kirchner and Renwick who will each do one session. The first of each session will be mainly background information needed to understand the problems being presented in the second session. The later part of each session is reserved for discussion. You are expected to be prepared for these discussions by reading the assigned material and preparing questions to ask in class. Each instructor will assign a grade based on either written answers to a set of questions on their topic, a short paper or a short presentation (depending on the instructor). Your final grade will be determined by an average of the individual instructor grades and your performance on a final presentation/discussion.
THE TOPICS:
(Dr. Nassim will go first, we have not settled on an exact sequence
for the rest of the topics.)
I. Jan 21&28; Chemistry and Medicine (AKA: Doctor, why am I seeing spots?) Dr. B. Nassim, Chemistry
II. Feb 4 &11; vaccines, viruses and genetic engineering (AKA: Should you get a flu shot this year? How about those genetically grown tomatoes?) Dr. G. Renwick and Dr. G. Kirchner (in that order), Biology.
III. Feb 18&25; A survey of the ElectroMagnetic radiation scare (AKA: Should I get rid of my alarm clock?) Dr. K. Forinash, Physics.
IV. March 4 &11; Software Security and reliability (AKA: How much can I trust my ATM?) Dr. L. Mand, Computer Science.
V. March 18 &; April 1 a) Meteor and asteroid impacts on the earth and 2) Global Warming (AKA: What is that big ball of fire in the sky? and Should I invest in real estate in Nevada for my sea shore condo?) Dr. G. Mason, Geology
(March 25; Spring break)
VI. April 8 &15; A quick look at probability and statistics. (AKA: What is the probability that you'll die in and airplane accident? In your tub?) Dr. C. Lang, Mathematics.
April 22 ????: Oral discussion on special topics; wrap up and
general discussion. We are thinking of making this a "Stump the instructor"
period where you can bring your favorite question(s) for us to answer.
All instructors will try to be present.
Scope of the Course:
The course is designed to introduce you to current topics in the
sciences which have an immediate impact on society. We are not assuming
that you've had more than one or two science courses as an undergraduate.
You may need to do some extra reading in areas where your background is
weak. In addition to looking at some specific scientific knowledge regarding
these topics we will attempt to answer some broader questions such as;
1) What is scientific knowledge?
2) How do we get it and how do we evaluate its accuracy and usefulness?
3) In the many cases of incomplete scientific knowledge, how does society
best use what we do know to make good decisions?
Instructors:
1) Dr.C. Lang.
Phone: 941-2270
Office: LF 218C Hrs: M&W;9:30 - 11:00 &; 2:00 - 3:30; T&R;10:30
- 12:00
email: CLANG
2) Dr. K. Forinash
Phone: 941-2390
Office: PS 101 Hrs: M&W;8-9:30; R 4-5:30
email: kforinas@ius.edu
3) Dr.L. Mand
Phone: 941-2384
Office: LB 152 Hrs: TBA
email: LMAND
4) Dr. G. Kirchner
Phone: 941-2635
Office: LF 140 Hrs: MTWRF10-11; M&W;2-2:30
email: GKIRCHNER
5) Dr. B. Nassim
Phone: 941-2305
Office: PS 207 Hrs: M 10-10:45 &;1-3; W 10-10:45; R 10-12 &;1-2
email: BNASSIM
6) Dr. G. Renwick
Phone: 941-2284
Office: LF 216D Hrs: M&W;9-12 &;1-5; T,1-5; R 1-2:30; F 9-12
&1-3
; email: GRENWICK
7) Dr. G. Mason
Phone: 941-2684
Office: LF 016 Hrs: M&W;3:00-4:30 and 7:00-8:00
email: GMASON
NOTE: We are all also available by appointment and we don't mind if you drop it (most of us are around a lot more than our office hours).