Mellon College of Science - Learning Goes Beyond Lectures

… Mellon College of Science - Learning Goes Beyond Lectures

				$Mathematical Sciences$

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Learning Goes Beyond Lectures

Signs of Excellence

Computing, Instrumentation, and the New Labs

Why Choose Carnegie Mellon for Science?

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Carnegie Mellon Undergraduate Admissions

Mellon College of Science
Carnegie Mellon

Scientists work in teams to solve challenging problems. You will do the same in small seminar/discussion courses (5 – 15 students), in recitations sections (20 – 30 students) of lecture courses, in hands-on projects, and with technology-enhanced learning.

Kaboom: Other Approaches to Teaching Science
Professor Garry Warnock holds a soap bubble filled with hydrogen while student ingnites it.

First Year Science Seminars

Each semester, first year students in the Mellon College of Science (MCS) are offered the chance to join with a small group of their peers and a faculty member to study and discuss some of the most exciting problems facing scientists today. Students can choose from topics ranging from, “How can we design an artificial blood substitute?” to “How can we build materials one molecule at a time?”

Here's a sample listing of first year seminar courses offered!

EUREKA: An Interdisciplinary Laboratory Experience. This course combines the academic disciplines of biological sciences, physics, chemistry and mathematical sciences.
Artificial Blood and Organ Transplantation
Curing Cancer
Dating: Using Radioactivity
Genes and Disease
Kaboom: Other Approaches to Teaching Science
Macromolecules for Nanotechnology
Pills and Poisons
Prions, Englishmen, and Mad Cows
Science and Science Fiction
Fractals

Hands-on Experience

Photo of student in biology lab using pipette

Student in a biology lab.

Ever wondered…
…why genes turn on and off, sometimes causing disease?
…what makes superconducting magnets float?
…whether plastics can replace wires, so that a big screen TV could fold up and be stored under your bed?

Our lab courses will give you the foundation to find the answers to these questions and more. For example, our faculty are working on creating new polymers that conduct electricity and undergraduates explore the properties of such materials in both undergraduate research projects and in the laboratory courses. In Lab III: Molecular Design and Synthesis, students explore the properties of copolymers prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization, a technique discovered at Carnegie Mellon that is used worldwide in research laboratories and industry.

Technology Enhanced Education

Faculty throughout the sciences are using technology to enhance your understanding and extend your vision so that you can…

See molecules
Dr. Gordon Rule uses Chime, a web browser plug-in which lets you visualize both small and large molecules. Visit Dr. Rule's Biochemistry I web site to view molecules, including amino acid, lipid, and sugar.

Download Chime browser plug-in for free.

Photo of student with laptop

Student using Virtual Laboratory software on a laptop connected to Carnegie Mellon's wireless network.

Test hypotheses
Ever thought about running a chemistry experiment from your dorm room? Dr. David Yaron has developed a Virtual Laboratory that allows students to manipulate hundreds of compounds, to design experiments before trying them in the lab, or run virtual experiments to check answers for a homework assignment.

You can try out the Virtual Laboratory software over the web. The site includes sample assignments like one that explores the binding of dye molecules to DNA, a process of interest in designing biosensors and new drug delivery systems.

		Home Biological Sciences Chemistry Mathematical Sciences Physics

Kaboom: Other Approaches to Teaching Science Professor Garry Warnock holds a soap bubble filled with hydrogen while student ingnites it. First Year Science Seminars

Here's a sample listing of first year seminar courses offered!

Hands-on Experience

Technology Enhanced Education

Kaboom: Other Approaches to Teaching Science
Professor Garry Warnock holds a soap bubble filled with hydrogen while student ingnites it.

First Year Science Seminars