Non-trivial research experiences are incorporated into the Augsburg biology curriculum

Click here to view a large collection of student research posters

One of the great strengths of Augsburg's biology program is the extent to which we incorporate non-trivial research experiences into the curriculum.

All biology majors conduct long-term research projects of their own design in Bio 152 and Bio 253 (the second and third courses in the three-course general biology sequence).

The projects in Bio 152 typically span nearly the whole semester and culminate in poster presentations and presentations to the class. Initially, the objectives of these first-year projects were to give students the opportunity to observe evolutionary and ecological processes first-hand within the time span of a semester, to develop a better sense for the variability inherent to biological data, and to start to appreciate the necessity of using statistical analyses for hypothesis testing. Initially the whole class collaborated on small number of projects, but over the years this has evolved to the point where each group develops its own original hypothisis, in some cases building on the work done by students in previous years. To make this manageable, the projects deal with a limited number of easily manipulated research systems (initially Drosophila populations or protozoan communities, but increasingly also plant communities).

Students taking Bio 481 (Ecology) and some other upper level courses conduct even more extensive and sophisticated projects spanning the entire semester, and typically culminating in oral/PowerPoint presentations open to a college-wide audience.

Many of these student research projects are wonderfully conceived and executed, particularly considering the time contraints, and it is really great to see how individual students' research skills and sophistication with the scientific process are developed and refined by these repeated research experiences.

Augsburg biology students also conduct independent research during the summer and during the school year with Augsburg faculty.

Most of this on-campus research has been supported at least in part by funds from Augsburg's Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) program or by Augsburg's McNair program.

Recent biological research on the Augsburg campus has dealt with a variety of topics, including:

• DNA barcoding of plants
• the genetics of disease resistance in plants
• orchid propagation
• the molecular basis of pathogenicity in Streptococcus bacteria
• effects of water flow on stony coral growth rates and colony form
• nutrient import and export in a coral reef aquarium system
• factors affecting nitrate and phosphate levels in coral reef aquaria
• factors affecting denitrification rates in a coral reef aquarium
• DNA barcoding of cnidarians

Some Augsburg biology students also participate in research at the University of Minnesota and a variety of other institutions across the country.

The Augsburg campus is directly south of and adjacent to the University of Minnesota West Bank Campus. From the West Bank Campus students can take the free U of M shuttle bus system to any part of the U of M East Bank or St. Paul campuses. This makes acces to U of M research labs (and other resources such as the extensive U of M library system) extremely easy for Augsburg students.