Department News
Mitra Receives NSF Funding
August 28, 2013 at 8:06 pmRaka Mitra, Assistant Professor of Biology, has been awarded $450,000 from the National Science Foundation’s Biology Division of Integrative Organismal Systems for her three-year project, “RUI: The Role of ralstonia solanacearum Effector Protein RSP1281 in Bacterial Wilt Disease.”
This RUI (Research in Undergraduate Institutions) grant enables Mitra to investigate a root-invading bacterial wilt pathogen to better determine plant defense pathways employed in roots, gaining insights useful for developing wilt resistant crops. The project supports the PI’s research, an undergraduate researcher in each summer, a technician year round; and it gives opportunity for students in Carleton’s Cell Biology Laboratory and Molecular Biology classes to gain important research lab experiences.
Lights, Camera, Biology!
August 4, 2013 at 3:04 pmBiology professors Stephan Zweifel and Mark McKone explain genetic concepts following campus misadventures in a popular video series.
Carleton College's Singer Wins "Science" Prize for Web-Based Teaching Tool
January 25, 2013 at 4:13 pmSusan Singer, the Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of the Natural Sciences at Carleton College, has earned a Science prize for her Inquiry-Based Instruction (IBI) teaching tool for her genomics course called Genomics Explorers. Science's IBI Prize was developed to showcase outstanding materials, usable in a wide range of schools and settings, for teaching introductory science courses at the college level. The materials must be designed to encourage students' natural curiosity about how the world works, rather than to deliver facts and principles about what scientists have already discovered. Organized as one free-standing "module," the materials should offer real understanding of the nature of science, as well as providing an experience in generating and evaluating scientific evidence.
Learning and Teaching Center highlights civic engagement in STEM classes
December 5, 2011 at 3:22 pmOn November 8th, the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching, Carleton's nexus for faculty development and pedagogical dialogue, hosted an event dedicated to ACE's work in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics...
Singer Speaks on NPR's Science Friday on "Rethinking How Kids Learn Science"
November 11, 2011 at 3:53 pmSusan Singer, the Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of the Natural Sciences, was one of the guests on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" regular Friday segment, "Science Friday," as she and other guests discussed alternative ways to teach children and engage them in the sciences on Friday, Nov. 11. Audio from the show is available on demand.
STEM Grant Promotes Nutrition and Collaboration
May 6, 2011 at 12:24 pmThis winter, Carleton and St. Olaf jointly received a $25,000 grant to work with local schools and community partners to promote good nutrition and healthy eating. The grant, which comes from the Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Science Foundation’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program, has sparked a variety of interconnected projects coming out of the ACE office.