One important aspect of the mission of Gustavus Adolphus College is to provide a curricular framework that is interdisciplinary in nature. Indeed, Gustavus Adolphus has a long and strong history of promoting and supporting educational and scholarly activity at the interfaces of the traditional disciplines of the liberal arts. In the natural sciences and mathematics, interdisciplinary strength is exemplified by well established programs in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Environmental Studies and an emerging program in Neuroscience.
Recently, Gustavus Adolphus College has been recognized nationally for a proposal by biology and chemistry faculty to further strengthen the interdisciplinary environment. The College has been awarded $60,000 by the Merck Company Foundation through its support of the Merck/AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Undergraduate Science Research Program.. The Merck/AAAS grant will support collaborations and activities involving faculty and students in research with the interdisciplinary and interfacial areas of biology and chemistry during the next three summers. Grant funds will pay for student summer research stipends, research costs and other activities aimed at enriching the environment for interdisciplinary collaboration. Gustavus Adolphus was among only 15 colleges and universities in the nation to receive one of the prestigious, peer-reviewed grants.
The nine Biology and Chemistry Department faculty listed below collaborated to write the successful proposal and the interdisciplinary research projects are described at the link listed below. Research projects are interdisciplinary but include aspects of immunology, molecular and neurobiology, as well as computational, environmental and synthetic organic chemistry. Gustavus Adolphus students (in their second or later year) who will be continuing next year and are interested in participating in collaborative research are encouraged to meet and speak with the faculty about these opportunities. To apply, students need to complete the application form available at the link below. The deadline for the application is Wednesday, March 2.
Faculty Participants
Description of Research Projects: projects.pdf Gustavus Summer 2005 Student Research Applications: application.pdf