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MCS College Council
October 26, 2006
In Attendance:
Richard McCullough
Gregg Franklin
Eric Grotzinger
Sharon McCarl
Elizabeth Jones
Hyung Kim
Roy Nicolaides
Fred Gilman
Amy Burkert
Rea Freeland
Gordon Rule
Robert Swendsen
Rea Freeland
Rebecca Webb
Brian Belardi
- Proposed PhD Program in Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology
(revised Document) (handout)
There has been increased enthusiasm for this program from both Pitt and Carnegie
Mellon. Courses required for the program have been taught for three years
and enrollment has been good. Expected enrollment in the program would be
four to six students per year. It would be similar in structure to the PhD
program in Biological Sciences, i.e., the first year would consist of course
work and lab rotations, second year would include selection of a lab and beginning
of thesis work, plus an admission to candidacy exam.
There were some concerns with how administrative issues would be handled for
the students in such a program. Students would not have a home department/affiliation
in MCS and might feel isolated as a result. Financial and registration issues
were also a concern. It was suggested that students be affiliated with the
department of their advisor once they have selected a lab. Financial issues
could be handled by the Dean's Office and registration issues by the grad
program office of the advisor's department. General administrative issues
and decisions would be handled by the committees listed on p. 5 of the handout.
Suggestions from the council included naming a director for the program and
deciding on a mechanism for placing students who are unable to find a lab
or research advisor. In Biological Sciences, students in this position are
dismissed from the program. The default would be to follow the guidelines
of the advisor's department's program.
COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The proposal for the PhD program in Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology was unanimously approved.
- Curricular Revisions and Additions for Approval (handout)
The Department of Biological Sciences submitted the following curricular revisions
and additions for approval:
- Approval of a new course: 03-203 From Bench to Bedside
This course was taught as special topics last spring and was very successful
so the department is seeking a permanent number for it. It is an optional
course and should be of interest to pre-health professionals as well as
students from various majors. Mini format allows the course to reach a
broader audience who might not take a full semester course. It would also
be useful to students seeking a second half mini course at mid-semester.
The 8:30 time was intended to avoid conflicts with other courses.
- Approval of a new course: 03-204 Information, Entropy, and the Brain
This course was also taught as a special topics course last spring and
was very successful. The course will introduce students with some background
in quantitative disciplines and mathematics to ideas about information
theory, noise, and coding in the nervous system.
- Approval of a new course: 03-342 Introduction to Biological Laboratory Practice
This course is proposed as a way to help increase flexibility for student
in the computational biology program. Students could take this course
in conjunction with 03-343 Experimental Genetics and Molecular Biology
without having to take the prerequisite chemistry lab, 09-221. It includes
safety components for both both chemistry and biology lab procedures.
It would be restricted to computational biology students and student in
other disciplines could not use it as a way to skip 09-221.
There was some concern as to whether students in this course, who have
not had 09-221, would be at a disadvantage. This may be the case but it
is likely that there will be a very small number of students enrolled
in the program and among those many will come from biology and have already
taken 09-221. Others will tend to be very good students and should be
able to manage without the full course, 09-221. For reference, there are
currently three students interested in the program - one form CS and two
from Biological SCiences. An evaluation will be conducted after the first
semester of the course to see if it has in fact been effective.
This course was reviewed by CUA and, with some reservations, was approved.
- Approval of a new course: 03-391 Introduction to Microbiology
This course was piloted as an advance special topics course. It is an
integrated course to serve students interested in pharmacy, for which
it is a requirement, engineers, particularly in Civil and Environmental
Engineering, and biology majors who could take it as a biology elective.
A lab is currently being developed for the course and will be piloted
in the spring. It is not strictly required for any students.
- Approval of course name change: 03-130 from Biology of Organisms to Introduction to Mammalian Physiology
The course name should be changed to more accurately reflect the content
and focus of the course.
- Approval of course name change: 03-360 from Biology of the Brain to Introduction to Neuroscience
The course name should be changed to more accurately reflect the content
and focus of the course.
- Approval of new degree track: BS in Biological Sciences/Neuroscience Track
There will be three required courses for this track and three to be chosen
from a list of options. As a track, it will show up on students' diplomas,
whereas the option does not. This track was reviewed by CUA and was approved.
- Approval of revisions to the MS in Computational Biology
The proposed changes are designed primarily to facilitate the use of the
degree as a 3-1-1 program and allow students entering with purely biology
or computer science backgrounds more opportunity to build up their knowledge
of the other area. The idea is not to allow double counting of required courses,
but to allow undergraduate courses to count toward the 99 unit requirement,
particularly since those coming in with CS backgrounds might be bets served
by taking undergraduate courses in biology and vice versa.
There was some confusion about the issue of double counting. It was suggested
that the proposal be reworded to say that "students may double count only
free electives toward the 99 unit requirement."
College Council requested that CUA review this item, particularly
points one (addressing double counting) and 4 (addressing the number of
units of undergraduate courses that may be counted toward the 99).
CUA reviewed this at its meeting on October 27 and suggested that there be two options:
- A standalone masters program for outside students or those applying after graduation.
- An accelerated Masters/3-1-1 for current CMU undergraduates.
Further, only 27 free elective units from undergraduates courses should be used toward the 99 required for the 3-1-1 program. The title of the
proposal should be changed so that it applies only to the undergraduate (3-1-1) portion of the program.
- Review of the revised requirements for the intercollege BS in Computational Biology
The following changes were proposed for the BS in Computational Biology.
The decision to reduce the number of requirements was driven by the lack
of students applying to the program where there had previously been interest.
This was likely due to the lack of flexibility in the curriculum.
- 09-221 Lab 1 no longer required
- The new fall mini course could be taken concurrently with 03-343 in place
of the 09-221 prerequisite
- Number of CS requirements reduced
This would increase the number of free elective units from 6-9 to 30-36. The
revisions are currently being reviewed by SCS College Council. It was
suggested that the full selection of options be listed for physics 1 (i.e.,
33-111, OR 33-106, OR 33-131).
COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: All curricular revisions and changes were approved.
- Proposal for a New Teaching Award - Mellon College of Science Award
for Innovation in Education (handout)
The Mellon College of Science Award for Innovation in Education would recognize
faculty members in MCS who have made a significant innovation in our educational
programs.
This award would be available every year, provided there are nominations.
Nominations should come form the department heads and should include a two
page nomination letter. The deadline will be the same as for the Ashkin and
Moore Awards, January 25.
COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The proposal for the Award for Innovation in Education
was unanimously approved.
-
Proposal for a New Chemistry Mini Course - 09-614 Modern Optical Spectroscopy (handout)
The Chemistry Department proposed a new mini course, 09-614 Modern Optical
Spectroscopy. The full semester spectroscopy course, 09-841, would still be
offered as an option. The target audience for this course would be undergraduate
and graduate students. For undergraduate chemistry majors, it would count
toward the requirement of 18 units of chemistry electives.
COLLEGE COUNCIL ACTION: The proposal for 09-614 Modern Optical Spectroscopy was unanimously approved.
- Proposed Changes in MCS Handbook - Appointments Case Checklist (handout)
This item was postponed until the December meeting.