Mary Blajda, long our bookkeeper, first in the Botany
and then the Biology Department, retired Dec. 1997. Mary was known by generations
of students for her help in ordering supplies, and the joyful spirit she brought
to the department office. We will all miss her, remembering the
help she extended to so many.
Professor
Arthur Stern, a plant physiologist who came to the Botany Department in the
1960's with a Ph.D. from Brandeis University and taught several generations of
students in plant metabolism, retired last December. As a member of first the Botany
and later the Biology Department, he served as our Honors Program representative and is currently playing
a critical role for the Biology Department in developing a program for the new Honors
College.
Professor Ted Sargent, currently the faculty member with
the longest appointment in the Zoology/Biology Departments will retire in
December 1998. With John "Bud" Moner and Peter Webster, he was a mainstay of our large
introductory biology course for many years. For an interview with Ted, see page 2
of this issue.
In keeping with the efforts afoot to improve undergraduate
teaching and learning, three Introductory Biology teaching laboratories
are being remodeled with the aim of integrating the traditional laboratory
experience with computer-based small-group problem solving. In the renovated
laboratories, students, working in groups of three, will be able to use
computers to simulate biological phenomena, to acquire data and images
by means of analog-to-digital interfaces and digital cameras, to summarize
data by generating charts and graphs, and to analyze data statistically.
Presentation of data will be facilitated by projection systems that
will be installed in the new labs. The laboratory remodeling
project, scheduled to be completed in the Fall 1998 semester, is made possible
by funds from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute ($100,000) and the University
($175,000).
Biology alumni are encouraged to keep in touch with their alma mater and the
Biology Department using various avenues provided:
We hope you will enjoy our efforts
and keep in touch with us and your fellow classmates. We
will endeavor to provide a personal response to each alumnus that contacts us.
The BioMass Staff
Biology Alumnus Newsletter
Biology Department
University of Massachusetts
Amherst MA 01003-5810
The Biology Computer Resource Center (BCRC), made possible
by funds from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), opened its doors
to students of the life sciences in the Fall of 1995. In the first year
of operation, 4000 signatures were entered in the BCRC register; during
the 1996-1997 academic year, the number of signatures tripled. Although the
majority of the students who use the BCRC are from the Biology Department,
the facility also attracts students from Forestry and Wildlife Management,
Plant and Soil Sciences, Animal Science and Anthropology, to name a few.
Supported by funds from HHMI and the University, the BCRC is committed
to improving undergraduate science teaching and learning. One of the goals
of Steven Brewer, Director of the BCRC since August 1996, is to help faculty
develop and implement teaching methods that will enable students to become
proficient problem posers and problem solvers.
Under Brewer's auspices, the BCRC has also adopted an instructional role.
Workshops on a variety of topics
(authoring world wide web pages, using the flat-bed scanner, color printers,
surfing the net, useful techniques in Photoshop, etc.) are offered to faculty
and students, and faculty are being encouraged to hold occasional classes
in the facility; during the summer of 1997,
Peter Forey of the British Museum presented
a special course in cladistics in the BCRC. Recently, the BCRC has
made available to every course offered by the Biology Department a set
of instructional technology resources which permits faculty to easily create
and post web pages and offers them the use of an on-line course calendar,
a course mailing list and a free-links page.
For current information,
visit the BCRC home page URL:
Our alumni may not realize how important they have been and can be to the
Biology Department. For years, alumni, now situated in academic departments
throughout the U.S.A. or holding nonacademic positions, have been invaluable
to our recent graduates by providing advice
and help in locating support for graduate studies and finding jobs. We want
to remind all alumni that help from nonacademic quarters is more important
than ever. If you would like to be on our list of potential contacts, please
send a brief description of your field of work with advice on the most
appropriate way to contact you to Ed Davis or Bruce Byers, Biology Department,
Morrill Science Center, U. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 or by Email to bbyers@bio.umass.edu.
We have many student requests to have individuals with "real life" jobs (i.e., nonacademic ones)
come speak with them.
Should you be available for such talks with small student groups, or
for one on one conversations, please let us know.
The new Biology Department is continuing the scholarship
funds started in the former Botany and Zoology Departments and established with alumni contributions.
They include the Ray Ethan Torrey Scholarship for undergrads in the plant
sciences, the Bill and Margaret Nutting Scholarship in field biology,
and the Albert DeLisle Award for graduate students in the plant
sciences. In addition, the newly created Massachusetts Museum of Natural
History would
appreciate alumni support. Beyond specific funds, the Biology Department greatly appreciates
unrestricted contributions. University budgets
have been tight for many years and alumni contributions have become an
extremely important source of funds for many initiatives for our students.