The 2014 Gordon Research Conference: Physics Research & Education

1. The 2014 Gordon Research Conference: Physics Research & Education Mel Sabella (Chicago State University, msabella@csu.edu) and Matt Lang (Vanderbilt University, matt.lang@vanderbilt.edu) The Complex Intersection of Biology and Physics: https://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2014&program=physres June 8-13, 2014Mount Holyoke CollegeSouth Hadley, MA … Join us at the 2014 GRC to continue the conversation … • History and Hierarchy at the Intersection of Biology and Physics Education at the intersection: Questions, Challenges, and Resources The typical introductory physics courses “rarely demonstrate how the ideas and intellectual tools of physics apply to the life sciences.“ Crouch and Heller, PER Conference Proceedings, 2011) Beyond the content, what most biologists do with physics is often very different from what physicists or engineers do with it. (Redish, PER Conference Proceedings, 2010) Questions the Community is Asking (posed by Crouch, Meredith, and Redish): 1. What content is appropriate for include in a physics class for primarily biology and health science majors? 2. How do we bridge inconsistencies in the way biologists, chemists and physicists view the nature of science and how they teach these subjects? What barriers do these present to teaching physics? 3. What types of activities motivate these students? What makes biological examples in physics authentic to biology students? (That is: to see the physics as helping develop important understandings of important biological processes and situations.) 4. What quantitative skills are important for this population and how are the skills they need to develop different from the skills engineers and physicists develop? 5. How can topics, such as thermodynamics, that overlap teachings in chemistry and biology be oriented so that students can see the connections between the way these topics are taught? 6. What types of resources exist for teaching at the interface of physics and biology? What are model textbooks? What are model laboratories? What are the appropriate assessment tools for these students? From Mahadevan • Scales in Biology • Physics and the Big Science of Biology From gazing at stars to gazing at single molecules From CERN to the “ohmic” science • Physics and Synthetic Biology, Systems Biology, Societal Implications From Phillips Hwang et al, 2009 Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics • Biotechnologies, Biomedical, Bioinspired, Hybrid-systems DNA Origami Rothemund, Nature 440, 297-302 (2006) • GRC Sessions • Keynote Session: Perspectives from Research and Education • Meeting the Needs of Life Science Students in Introductory Physics Through Course Transformation • Single Cell and Molecular Techniques Involving Biological Motors at the Boundary of Biology and Physics • New Trends in Soft Condensed Matter Physics: Research and Education • Novel Laboratory Activities for the Biophysics and Bio-Engineering Curriculum • Improving the Scientific Competencies and Attitudes of Biology and Pre-Med Students Through Multidisciplinary Reform • Effective Use of the Textbook at the Intersection of Biology and Physics • Understanding Current Health Needs and Novel Techniques in Biomedicine: Teaching and Research • Involving Undergraduates in Cutting Edge Biophysics Research and Its Implications for Instruction Funding Available: A limited amount of funding is available to defray costs for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, two year college faculty, minority serving institution faculty, underrepresented minority faculty and students, female faculty and students, early career investigators, and members of specific professional organizations. If you are interested in requesting this funding please see visit the conference webpage.