|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
CONCENTRATIONS WITHIN PLANT BIOLOGY
The course of the future will be determined by information and technology and the ability to use them. Training programs in the university, to be most productive, must remain linked with the real world. Among these links are advances in biotechnology, our understanding of the environment, and the role of plants in maintaining the quality and aesthetics of habitats. Arizona State University enjoys a wealth of programs in molecular biosciences, biotechnology and environmental sciences. The Department of Plant Biology has formalized these areas into the following undergraduate Concentrations within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. (1) Environmental Science and Ecology: Programs that express a broad-scale vision of environmental studies exist at many levels within ASU. This Concentration provides a focused and interdepartmental program in this area at the undergraduate level. Plant Biology is uniquely positioned to provide the framework of a program that deals with environmental aspects of natural and human dominated ecosystems. (2) Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Major advances have occurred recently in understanding biochemical, molecular, and cellular aspects of plants. This Concentration was developed to provide training in these areas at the undergraduate level. A general undergraduate major in Plant Biology also can be chosen. Experts in plant systematics within the Department work in each of these areas to bring their knowledge of species appropriate to each task. Each Concentration is designed to include significant contributions by faculty and courses from other departments and colleges. Examples of such units are the Departments of Microbiology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biology, Bioengineering, Geology, Geography, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Environmental Resources. These programs will provide solid grounding in the information and skills needed for careers in molecular biosciences and biotechnology, environmental science and ecology. Students will learn how to learn, how to ask appropriate questions, and how to design properly controlled experiments by working closely with faculty in research settings. We are responding to expressions of need for training in molecular and cellular biology of plants, and for a coherent, focused undergraduate program in environmental sciences. Students will be trained to seek knowledge at the forefront of each of their areas of interest, be exposed to the breadth of the subject, and be given the tools to manage information and thus be able to participate in its expansion. Students who choose to major in Plant Biology will have the opportunity to indicate a Concentration, which will appear on their transcript. The Department currently has a highly successful advising system, in which a staff person is always available to guide students through the routine aspects of program development. Appointments are then made with faculty members in a student's area of interest for more substantive advising related to career opportunities. The Faculty and Academic Professionals The following list of faculty and academic professionals, with their areas of research, indicates the strengths within the Department in each Concentration, with several members supporting more than one Concentration. Environmental Science and Ecology John Briggs (Interim Chair and Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- Landscape ecology; remote sensing Thomas A. Day (Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- physiological ecology; light, temperature and water stress; effects of ultraviolet light on plants Jeffrey M. Klopatek (Professor of Plant Biology) -- ecosystem analysis, mineral cycling and ecosystem restoration; landscape ecology, computer technology and ecological modeling Leslie R. Landrum (Associate Research Scientist in Plant Biology) -- systematics of American Myrtaceae, floristics of Arizona and Chile, phylogenetic analysis, vascular plant herbarium curator Thomas H. Nash III (Professor of Plant Biology) -- lichens as indicators of air pollution; mechanisms of damage to lichens, plant and ecosystems by air pollutants (SO2, O3, etc.); lichen collection curator Kathleen B. Pigg (Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- paleobotany, evolution of petrified and miocene plants, evolution and diversification of lycopods, paleobotanical collection curator Milton R. Sommerfeld (Professor of Plant Biology) -- developmental morphology and life cycles of algae, phytoplankton ecology and water quality, algae as sources of fuel Juliet C. Stromberg (Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- plant population and community ecology, riparian ecosystems, applied ecology, biohydrology, ecosystem disturbance and restorations Stanley R. Szarek (Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- desert plant adaptations; physiological, morphological and reproductive; Crassulacean acid metabolism; environmental physiology Jianguo Wu (Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- landscape ecology, theoretical ecology, population and metapopulation dynamics, systems ecology Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Charles J. Arntzen (Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology) -- Plant biotechnology;development of edible vaccines; anti-cancer compounds from desert plants. Scott E. Bingham (Associate Research Scientist in Plant Biology) -- plant molecular biology, algal transformation and biotechnology W. Dennis Clark (Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- systematic and evolutionary botany, plant pharmaceuticals Wayne D. Frasch (Professor of Plant Biology) -- plant biochemistry, photosynthetic water oxidation and ATP synthesis J. Kenneth Hoober (Professor of Plant Biology) -- biogenesis of thylakoid membranes, chlorophyll synthesis and assembly of light-harvesting complexes Russell LoBrutto (Senior Research Scientist in Plant Biology) -- electron paramagnetic resonance, ENDOR, ESEEM, structure of electron transport proteins, metal ligands in enzyme action Hugh S. Mason (Associate Professor in Plant Biology) B.L. Ramakrishna (Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- Biomaterials; scanning probe microscopy. David Rhoads (Assistant Professor of Plant Biology) -- Signal transduction; regulation of mitochondrial function Robert W. Roberson (Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- electron and light microscopic imaging, cryotechniques, electron microscopic immunocytochemistry, cytology of hyphal tip cells and tip growth of fungi Leslie R. Towill (Associate Professor of Plant Biology) -- developmental plant physiology, photobiology of vascular and nonvascular plant development Richard N. Trelease (Professor of Plant Biology) -- molecular and cellular biology of oilseed development and growth; biogenesis of peroxisomes biogenesis, molecular targeting of proteins Willem F.J. Vermaas (Professor of Plant Biology) -- molecular genetics of cyanobacteria; structure, function and assembly of photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes Andrew N. Webber (Professor of Plant Biology) -- plant molecular biology and biochemistry, biogenesis of chloroplast thylakoid membrane-protein complexes Martin F. Wojciechowski (Assistant Professor of Plant Biology) -- Plant evolution and systematics, especially molecular phylogenetics of legumes; molecular evolution and comparative genomics, conceptual and theoretical issues in phylogenetic biology. A number of scientists at other institutions, in particular the USDA-ARS Water Conservation and Western Cotton Research Laboratories, and the Desert Botanical Garden, are Adjunct Faculty in the Department and have provided strong support to the departmental programs. Curriculum A. The General Program in Plant Biology Students who choose a general program in plant biology rather than elect a Concentration, will be able to select courses from the Department of Plant Biology and from other departments in the biological and physical sciences. The B.S. degree curriculum in Plant Biology consists of 54 to 60 SCH (student credit hours), and would be similar to the following outline.
B. Concentrations 1. Environmental Science and Ecology (ESE) Environmental Science is the study of the environment, its biological (plants, animals, microorganisms) and non-biological (air, land, and water) components, and especially the interaction of these components. Furthermore, it includes the ways in which human societies fit into this complex network (e.g., how we affect the environment and, in turn, are affected by it). Faculty in the Department of Plant Biology currently have ongoing research in the areas of air and water pollution, environmental impacts, biodiversity, land-use and water-use change, and ecosystem restoration. All of these are key environmental areas of investigation. Environmental Science is interdisciplinary and thus we require coursework from within and outside both the department and College. The curriculum in the major is listed below. For more information on the Environmental Science and Ecology courses, degree options, faculty and careers, please visit the Environmental Science and Ecology web page.
2. Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The Concentration in Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology recognizes the need for training in this rapidly growing area of plant biology. The skills learned in molecular genetics, biochemistry, and cellular biology support career opportunities in genetic engineering, genomics and biotechnology.
Related undergraduate programs at ASU Components of molecular biosciences are present in several departments within the university. Programs in bioengineering within the College of Engineering developed technologies to solve biomedically relevant problems. The bioengineering programs will be well served by linking students with the Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology degree offered jointly by the Departments of Plant Biology and Microbiology. Also, there is a strong cooperative relationship in this area with the Biochemistry Major in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The Department of Biology emphasizes a general biology curriculum. In the area of environmental science and ecology, components exist in Biology, Geology, Geography, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Microbiology, Environmental Resources (College of Architecture) and others. Our purpose is to build these programs by bringing the major participants together into a strong, cohesive program. The interactions of these groups, enhanced by their individual development, will encourage presentations that combine all interests, resulting in each benefiting from the collaboration. Students in these programs are exceptionally well supported by the facilities in the Life Sciences E Wing, including well-equipped research laboratories on the upper floors and teaching laboratories in the basement. The Department of Plant Biology has invested heavily to expand instrumentation in the teaching laboratories. Specifically, laboratory instruments such as spectrophotometers, electrophoresis equipment and oxygen electrodes have been introduced into the laboratory investigations in addition to quality binocular microscopes. Students are encouraged to design their own experiments utilizing these instruments. Field work is superbly supported by the campus Arboretum, and the exceptional environment of Arizona. The Department houses excellent collections of vascular plant, lichen and paleobotanical specimens. An excellent internship program (Science Community Outreach Program) is underway to extend to students the opportunity to explore educational, service and employment possibilities in agencies outside the university.
Contact SOLS|ASU Accessibility|Contact Web Master ASU Accessibility|ASU Privacy ASU Copyright & Trademark Statement Copyright All Rights Reserved |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||