Equipment for Research-Oriented First-Year Seminar and UpperLevel Courses

这个项目解决了如何最好地激发和维持本科生对科学的兴趣的问题。潜在的假设是，早期（即第一学期或第一年）接触到令人兴奋和严谨的科学研究是点燃学生潜在科学兴趣的火花。两个试验性的以研究为导向的第一年研讨会，“保存基因组”和“蛋白质结构”，已经被证明在识别有前途的科学家和激励学生从事研究方面是有价值的。该项目的目标有两个：通过整合聚合酶链反应（PCR）和生物分子结构计算机模拟技术，提升以研究为导向的第一年研讨会课程，并将在两个试点研究中学到的知识应用于精选的高级课程，重组DNA，生物分析化学和生物物理化学，该系认为这是维持学生对原始研究的热情所必需的延伸。因此，该提案针对的是参加受影响课程的一年级学生和高年级学生。在第一年的“保存基因组”研讨会上介绍了基于pcr的实验，这些实验使用了以前从未扩增过的DNA模板，并提供了更高级的重组DNA。在第一年的蛋白质结构研讨会上，正在图形工作站上进行蛋白质和核酸结构的计算机模拟。模拟新结构的模块化实验正在开发中，以纳入高级课程生物分析化学和生物物理化学，在这些课程中，涉及新蛋白质分离和表征的原始研究方面已经存在。在一次全国会议上，一名本科生的演讲和《化学教育杂志》上的一篇文章描述了以研究为导向的第一年试点研讨会的成功。类似的方法可以用来评估和传播将PCR和生物分子结构的计算机模拟纳入这些课程的描述。结果可以在全国会议、书面文章和万维网上分享。

This project addresses the problem of how best to stimulate and then sustain undergraduate interest in science. The underlying assumption is that early exposure (i.e., first semester or first-year) to the excitement and rigor of scientific research is a spark that will ignite students' latent scientific interests. Two pilot research-oriented first-year seminars, Preserving Genomes and Protein Structure, have proven to be valuable in identifying promising scientists and in motivating students to engage in research. The project objective is two-fold: to upgrade the research-oriented first-year seminar courses by incorporating technologies utilizing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and computer simulations of biomolecular structure, and to apply what has been learned in the two pilot studies to a select group of upper-level courses, Recombinant DNA, Bioanalytical Chemistry, and Biophysical Chemistry, an extension the department believes is required to sustain the students' enthusiasm for original research beyond the introductory level. The proposal is thus targeted at first-year students and upper-level students who enroll in affected courses. PCR-based experiments, using DNA templates that have never been amplified before, are being introduced in the first-year seminar Preserving Genomes and offered at a more advanced level in Recombinant DNA. Computer simulations of protein and nucleic acid structure are being carried out on graphics workstations in the first-year seminar Protein Structure. Modular experiments in which novel structures are simulated are being developed for incorporation into the advanced courses Bioanalytical Chemistry and Biophysical Chemistry, in which aspects of original research involving isolation and characterization of novel proteins already exist. The success of the pilot research-oriented first-year seminars has been described in an undergraduate presentation at a national conference and in an article in the Journal of Chemical Education. Similar means can be used to evaluate and disseminate descriptions of incorporating PCR and computer simulations of biomolecular structure into these courses. Results can be shared at a national meeting, in written articles, and on the World Wide Web.