2008 Woodie Awards
Biology department grant allows for restructuring
Casey Jay
Issue date: 5/8/08 Section: News
SJSU's biology department was granted $1.3 million from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, according to a news release.
The institute is giving a total of $60 million to 48 schools nationwide to help them create changes in science education.
Julio Soto, associate professor of biology and science education, applied for and will oversee the use of the grant.
"This wasn't open to every school," Soto said. "You had to be invited and then apply."
He said President Kassing received the invitation from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute last spring and asked the biology faculty who would like to respond.
"I said I'd do it, and from June through October we were working on the proposal," Soto said.
Susan Lambrecht, a professor of biology who worked closely with Soto on the grant, said SJSU has attempted to earn a Howard Hughes grant several times over the past 20 years.
"I'm really excited to be part of a time when it's being funded here," she said. "They're really difficult to get."
Soto said the grant would be divided up for many different purposes within the biology department.
"First, the funds will be used to restructure the biology core sequence," he said.
The freshmen biology major courses currently include a three-semester core, which Lambrecht said the department wants to convert into two semesters.
"But it's not just pulling out subject matter to make it shorter," she said. "It's making it more inquiry-based."
Lambrecht said this means the courses will be reorganized so students will design their own experiments and test their own hypotheses rather than follow a lab manual.
Soto said the current core sequence is outdated and the new structure will reflect what's going on today. More research-based learning means there will be a need for new equipment, he added.
Soto said funds from the grant will be used to purchase fieldwork equipment such as GPS units, laptops and instruments for measuring photosynthesis.
Some of the funding will be allocated to bring on a new professor, who Soto said would be expensive to employee.
"We are also hiring a new faculty member to specialize in two areas: bioinformatics and conservation issues," Soto said.
The funding will be used to help two other groups of students - transfers and those going on to graduate school.
"We are also going to create a component for transfer students," Soto said. "Most of our transfers come from De Anza, so we are going to have a summer class focusing on conservation."
Lambrecht said some of the grant would be set aside to create a program for helping students apply for graduate school, and provide them with advising as they do research and teach them how to present their research.
The grant can be renewed after a four-year period.
"If we do a good job," Soto said.
The institute is giving a total of $60 million to 48 schools nationwide to help them create changes in science education.
Julio Soto, associate professor of biology and science education, applied for and will oversee the use of the grant.
"This wasn't open to every school," Soto said. "You had to be invited and then apply."
He said President Kassing received the invitation from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute last spring and asked the biology faculty who would like to respond.
"I said I'd do it, and from June through October we were working on the proposal," Soto said.
Susan Lambrecht, a professor of biology who worked closely with Soto on the grant, said SJSU has attempted to earn a Howard Hughes grant several times over the past 20 years.
"I'm really excited to be part of a time when it's being funded here," she said. "They're really difficult to get."
Soto said the grant would be divided up for many different purposes within the biology department.
"First, the funds will be used to restructure the biology core sequence," he said.
The freshmen biology major courses currently include a three-semester core, which Lambrecht said the department wants to convert into two semesters.
"But it's not just pulling out subject matter to make it shorter," she said. "It's making it more inquiry-based."
Lambrecht said this means the courses will be reorganized so students will design their own experiments and test their own hypotheses rather than follow a lab manual.
Soto said the current core sequence is outdated and the new structure will reflect what's going on today. More research-based learning means there will be a need for new equipment, he added.
Soto said funds from the grant will be used to purchase fieldwork equipment such as GPS units, laptops and instruments for measuring photosynthesis.
Some of the funding will be allocated to bring on a new professor, who Soto said would be expensive to employee.
"We are also hiring a new faculty member to specialize in two areas: bioinformatics and conservation issues," Soto said.
The funding will be used to help two other groups of students - transfers and those going on to graduate school.
"We are also going to create a component for transfer students," Soto said. "Most of our transfers come from De Anza, so we are going to have a summer class focusing on conservation."
Lambrecht said some of the grant would be set aside to create a program for helping students apply for graduate school, and provide them with advising as they do research and teach them how to present their research.
The grant can be renewed after a four-year period.
"If we do a good job," Soto said.
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