Deals with the application of analytical tools widely used in the laboratory. Topics include NMR, EPR, IR, Raman, UV-visible, mass and fluorescence spectroscopy, chromatography, electrophoresis, electrochemistry and other techniques. Emphasizes practical knowledge for data interpretation and instrument operation. Quarter-credit courses lasting four to five weeks are offered periodically. Attendance and class participation are mandatory. Graded as Pass/Fail. May be repeatable for credit. By permission only. The course is intended for graduate students and research-active undergraduates in any of the natural science departments. Fall 2023 Topic -Scientific Writing & Communication - Being able to clearly and effectively communicate scientific and technical information is a skill that is critically important for both academics and professionals. With a focus on practical topics, such as writing research proposals, creating figures and posters to illustrate data, and presenting research results, this interactive course helps science students to develop the skills of written, graphic, and oral communication. A major emphasis is placed on revising documents to better organize their content, which makes it easier for the reader to receive and understand the main messages. A second focus is using effective grammar and graphic design to polish documents into excellent final products. Fall 2023 Topic - Scientific Data Analysis - Analyzing data is a core component of the scientific method. This course has a practical focus and aims to help research-active science students (newer graduate students and upper level undergraduates) to feel knowledgeable and confident about how they are evaluating the results of their experiments. What conclusions should we draw or not draw from a set of data? How precisely should these conclusions be drawn? How do we model data and how should we compare different models? How should we interpret lines of best fit? How do we make sure we are not over-interpreting our results? These are the types of questions we will ask. Our approach to thinking about these questions will include a mix of computer simulation and theory-based statistics, but no background in either area is required. Spring 2024 Topic - Scientific Literature Analysis - This course aims to help science students learn how to effectively learn from finding and reading scientific literature. How can we find high-quality scientific literature on a topic of interest? How should we critically read that scientific literature? How can we create effective summaries of what we read? How can we connect together ideas from multiple sources to create broader summaries? How can we effectively present our summaries to peers? This course will begin by building the skills and methods to address these types of questions, and it will then guide students through the creation of a review of a selected literature topic. Spring 2025 Topic - Circular Dichroism of Proteins - Topics will include theoretical and experimental considerations in protein circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. At the end of the course, students are expected to know the basic theory of protein CD and be able to obtain and analyze a CD spectrum of a protein of interest to them.
54%2030 Fall: 54% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 8 of 9 fall terms since 2018.
23%2030 Spring: 23% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 6 of 9 spring terms since 2018. Department course count falling about 10% per year. Department faculty is about 17% below its recent average.
7%2030 Summer: 7% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 0 of 9 summer terms since 2018.
8%2030 Intersession: 8% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 0 of 6 intersession terms since 2020.
2029
56%2029 Fall: 56% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 8 of 10 fall terms since 2017.
26%2029 Spring: 26% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 7 of 10 spring terms since 2017. Department course count falling about 9% per year. Department faculty is about 16% below its recent average.
6%2029 Summer: 6% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 0 of 10 summer terms since 2017.
7%2029 Intersession: 7% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 0 of 7 intersession terms since 2017.
2028
59%2028 Fall: 59% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 9 of 11 fall terms since 2016.
29%2028 Spring: 29% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 8 of 11 spring terms since 2016. Department course count falling about 8% per year. Department faculty is about 17% below its recent average.
5%2028 Summer: 5% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 0 of 11 summer terms since 2016.
7%2028 Intersession: 7% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 0 of 7 intersession terms since 2017.
2027
63%2027 Fall: 63% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 10 of 12 fall terms since 2015. Section count rising about 1% per year over 3 terms.
31%2027 Spring: 31% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 9 of 12 spring terms since 2015. Department course count falling about 7% per year. Department faculty is about 17% below its recent average.
5%2027 Summer: 5% chance, high confidence. Offered in 0 of 12 summer terms since 2015.
6%2027 Intersession: 6% chance, medium confidence. Offered in 0 of 7 intersession terms since 2017.
2026
11 section
Not offered
Not offered
n/aNo data
2025
11 section
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
2024
Not offered
11 section
Not offered
Not offered
2023
22 sections
Not offered
Not offered
Not offered
2022
22 sections
22 sections
Not offered
Not offered
2021
22 sections
22 sections
Not offered
Not offered
2020
22 sections
11 section
Not offered
Not offered
2019
22 sections
11 section
Not offered
n/aNo data
2018
22 sections
11 section
Not offered
n/aNo data
2017
Not offered
11 section
Not offered
Not offered
2016
22 sections
11 section
Not offered
n/aNo data
ForecastUnder 15%15–39%40–69%70–89%90%+Not enough history
Fall Spring Summer Intersession More sectionsNot offeredNo data
Meeting times
Recent first
Fri, 1:25 PM–2:40 PMSackler Science Center S223202620252018
Fri, 2:25 PM–4:25 PMBP2202012201120102009
Fri, 1:25 PM–4:05 PMSackler Science Center S121201120102009