SYMPOSIUM: Keynote Symposium on "New Biologists for the New Biology," ASCB Annual Meeting, December 1, 2007

美国细胞生物学学会年会主题研讨会“新生物学的新生物学家”将于2007年12月1日在华盛顿会议中心举行。这次研讨会吸引了大约5000名与会者--科学家教师、学生和博士后--在学会第47届年会开始时。普林斯顿大学生物物理学家威廉·比亚莱克将阐述为什么需要一种新的、更统一的本科科学教育方法来培养下一代科学家，以及如何实施这样的计划。要实现真正的数量生物学的全部承诺，训练必须改变。比亚莱克将概述他在普林斯顿大学共同开发和教授的一系列革命性课程的目标和影响。这项为期两年的课程由化学系、计算机科学系、分子生物学系和物理系联合提供，以“自然科学的综合、定量介绍”为基础。它展示了“作为一种统一的努力，寻求对世界的数学理解。”它专注于可概括的、基本的概念和批评方法，并“围绕着统一我们对周围世界的理解的数学思想进行组织。”通过强调数学描述的价值，即使在问题无法用数学方法解决的情况下，比亚莱克致力于向他的学生传授数学和计算方面的复杂性，这远远超出了当今大多数本科生的水平。物理学家、伦斯勒理工学院院长雪莉·安·杰克逊在她2002年的书《安静的危机：在生产美国科学和技术人才方面的不足》中敲响了警钟，书中谈到了迫在眉睫的退休浪潮，以及接受过培训或培训以接替他们的美国学生数量不足。作为一名非裔美国人，杰克逊将阐述如何使美国科学多样化，提供灵感和有效的战略。她将分享她的个人故事和她的观点。她的目标是通过不同的方法、教学方法和观点来创造“事实上的多样性”。她将专注于如何实施这些，以及改善科学教育的方法。比亚莱克和杰克逊分享了ASCB主题演讲的最终目标：打破学科之间的人为障碍，培养准备以更好的理解、技能和成熟度解决科学问题的新一代科学家。两人都是成功打破障碍实现目标的先驱，他们都将提供案例研究，戏剧性地说明我们如何改善下一代科学家的大学科学教育。与会者将受到启发，重新思考各自机构的本科生和研究生课程，并被引导到网站，在那里可以找到大量有用的教学材料。他们将学习如何促进跨传统部门边界的强大互动，这些部门边界将科学和数学学科与人文学科分开。预计许多学校将致力于在各自的院校实施更统一的本科课程。除了即将举行的活动外，《ASCB时事通讯》专栏和网络广播将有助于传播主题并开始对话，这种对话应该在未来几年继续下去。

The American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting Keynote Symposium, "New Biologists for the New Biology," will be held at the Washington, DC, Convention Center, on December 1, 2007. The Symposium attracts approximately 5,000 attendees -- scientist teachers, students, and postdocs -- at the start of the Society's 47th Annual Meeting.Princeton University biophysicist William Bialek will address why a new, more unified approach to undergraduate science education is necessary for producing the next generation of scientists and how such a program can be implemented. To achieve the full promise of genuinely quantitative biology, training must change. Bialek will present an overview of the goals and impact of the sequence of revolutionary courses that he co-developed and teaches at Princeton. Based on "an integrated, quantitative introduction to the natural sciences," the two-year sequence is offered jointly by the Chemistry, Computer Science, Molecular Biology and Physics departments. It presents "the search for a mathematical understanding of the world as a unified endeavor." It focuses on generalizable, fundamental concepts and critical methods and is "organized around the mathematical ideas that unify our understanding of the world around us." By emphasizing the value of mathematical description even when problems cannot be solved mathematically, Bialek works to impart a mathematical and computational sophistication to his students that is far beyond that available to most undergraduates today.Shirley Ann Jackson, a physicist and President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, sounded the alarm in her 2002 book, "The Quiet Crisis: Falling Short in Producing American Scientific and Technical Talent," about the looming wave of retirements and insufficient numbers of American students trained or in training to succeed them. An African American, Jackson will address how to diversify American science, providing inspiration and effective strategies. She will share both her personal story and her perspectives. Her goal is to create "diversity in fact" through diversity of approach, pedagogy, and outlook. She will focus on how to implement these, as well as on methods for improving scientific education.Bialek and Jackson share the ultimate goal of the ASCB Keynote: breaking down artificial barriers between disciplines and training a new generation of scientists prepared to address scientific problems with greater understanding, skill, and sophistication. Both are pioneers who have successfully broken down barriers to accomplish their goals, and both will present case studies that dramatically illustrate how we can improve college science education for the next generation of scientists. Attendees will be inspired to rethink the undergraduate and graduate curricula at their own institutions, and be directed to websites where a great deal of useful teaching material can be found. They will learn how to promote strong interactions across the traditional departmental boundaries that have separated scientific and mathematical disciplines and the humanities. It is anticipated that many will work toward implementing more unified undergraduate curricula at their own institutions. Beyond the immediate event, "ASCB Newsletter" columns and webcasts will help disseminate themes and begin a dialogue that should continue for years to come.