CCS Chemistry and Biochemistry Courses
All chemistry and biochemistry students will take a core set of courses in math and science to prepare you for graduate school begining with honors general chemistry and a CCS problem solving course. After the first year the sequence of courses can be altered to suit your specific interests in consultation with your personal faculty advisor. As an example, a student may start taking organic chemistry at the end of the freshman year so that they can take the junior level biochemistry course in their sophomore year. The would allow a student with an interest in biochemistry to take additional upper level and graduate courses in biochemistry during their junior and senior years. The CCS program opens doors to advanced study for the highly motivated student.
Magnetic coil used in the NMR Intrumentation Course
Below is a selection of the courses that are offered in addition to the regular lecture style courses taken in the College of Letters and Science.
Introduction to the Chemical Applications of Group Theory
This course will explore the use of group theory and symmetry as applied to chemical systems. Point groups and symmetry will be introduced and applied towards the normal coordinate analysis of vibrations in molecules as well as the construction of molecular orbitals from atomic orbitals. [course web page here]
Problem Solving
This course is offered as an adjunct to the honors general chemistry course (Chem 2A). All entering CCS freshman students will take this course. The small discussion style class is designed to explore the topics of general chemistry to greater depth. Problem solving skills will be developed and supplemental lectures will reinforce key concepts. When appropriate, experiments in the upper-division undergraduate laboratory will be performed to examine chemical concepts in a laboratory setting.
Epigenetics
Epigenetics is the study of processes that lead to inheritance without the transmission of changes in DNA sequence. These include DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling and RNA interference. Epigenetic processes occur in bacteria, plants and humans, and are often essential for life. The silencing of X-chromosomes in females, the sex-specific imprinting of our genomes, the parent-offspring conflict, the determination of embryonic stem cell fate and the silencing of the extensive viral DNA within our genomes are examples of epigenetic processes. Errors in epigenetic processes lead to mental retardation, various inherited neurological diseases, and cancer, and many drug companies are trying to develop drugs based on intervening in these pathways. This course will cover the biology, biochemistry, evolutionary biology, and medicinal implications of epigenetics.
Magnetic Resonance Instrumentation
Magnetic resonance, a broad term incorporating nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is an area of science with many facets and applications, and is the subject of much research and development in areas ranging from biology, chemistry, physics, engineering to medical sciences. Magnetic Resonance Instrumentation Laboratory is a course designed to introduce students to the concepts and applications of the various forms of magnetic resonance concepts, such as NMR, EPR and the Overhauser effect through hands-on practical experience of building and using basic, low-field, NMR and MRI instrumentation.The course contains a one-hour lecture and a 3-hour lab each week. In the lecture, students will learn the concepts of magnetic resonance, from the basics of spins in a magnetic field, to relaxation and spin echoes. From there the lecture will briefly explore 2D spectroscopy and imaging, and then finish with a discussion of the current research areas in magnetic resonance. The lab is designed to give the student concrete experience in taking magnetic resonance spectra. Students will complete two laboratory experiments, with each experiment lasting for five weeks. One lab involves building and testing the radio frequency probes necessary for simultaneous implementation of NMR and EPR to demonstrate the Overhauser effect, more widely known as its sister technique, Nuclear Overhauser Effect Spectroscopy (NOESY). The other lab uses a modern, earth field MRI system, first for taking NMR measurements, then for 1D, 2D and 3D MRI.
Research Ethics
This course explores the role of ethics in the biological and physical sciences, emphasizing current topics and case studies. We examine topics including fraud (intentional and unintentional), intellectual property, plagiarism, objectivity in science, medical ethics, and conflicts of interest. Panel discussions with researchers at the graduate, principal investigator, and administrative levels often take place throughout the quarter.
Students are asked to write evaluations on selected case studies and following in-class discussions, will be given the opportunity to refute or defend their original opinions. Cases of intentionally misrepresented and faked data are present in published scientific literature. It is immediately clear that faking data is unethical but what are the responsibilities of coauthors of research articles? What are the current ethical issues related to stem-cell research?
Research Seminar
Weekly symposium open to all students involved or interested in chemistry or biochemistry research. Each week a selected student will present the latest results from their undergraduate research project. Class members will critique presentations and have the opportunity to ask questions and suggest solutions to problems encountered during research projects. Students not currently in a research group can learn about research possibilities and will be asked to present a paper from the current scientific literature. All students interested in research are encouraged to take part in this course.