Award Abstract #0750941
SYMPOSIUM: Keynote Symposium on "New Biologists for the New Biology," ASCB Annual Meeting, December 1, 2007

NSF Org:	MCB Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
Initial Amendment Date:	August 23, 2007
Latest Amendment Date:	August 23, 2007
Award Number:	0750941
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Elizabeth S. Sztul MCB Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	September 15, 2007
Expires:	August 31, 2008 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$30000
Investigator(s):	Joan Goldberg JGoldberg@ascb.org (Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	American Society For Cell Biology 8120 WOODMONT AVE STE 750 BETHESDA, MD 20814 301/347-9300
NSF Program(s):	CELLULAR SYSTEMS
Field Application(s):
Program Reference Code(s):	SMET, 9183, 9178, 1228
Program Element Code(s):	1114

ABSTRACT

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.

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