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Biology Professors Michael Hanna and George Plopper Named Education Fellows by the National Academies
Michael Hanna, associate professor of biology, and George
Plopper, assistant professor of biology, were recently named
"Education Fellows in the Life Sciences" by the National
Academies. The designation was given to 39 educators around the
country who successfully completed a summer institute aimed at
fostering innovative approaches to teaching undergraduate
biology.
"These fellows are at the
forefront of cutting-edge changes in the ways that we
should be teaching undergraduate biology. They will play
a vital role in better preparing all students for life in
a world that will be increasingly dominated by science
and technology, as well as attracting some of them to a
career in biomedical research."
—Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of
Sciences—
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Hanna and Plopper were selected to attend the summer
institute based on their research team's ideas for enhancing
undergraduate biology education and a commitment by Rensselaer
to support teaching innovations. Admission to the summer
institute was highly competitive and only 20 research
universities nationwide were chosen to participate.
The institute grew out of a recommendation in a report
issued last year by the National Academies' National Research
Council, Bio2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for
Future Research Biologists, which called for changes in
the way college students are taught biology. The report noted
that undergraduate biology education was failing to keep pace
with revolutionary advances in biomedical research that require
those working in the field to have a good understanding of
other scientific disciplines, such as math and computer
science, and urged instructors to integrate other subjects into
their biology classes.
"These fellows are at the forefront of cutting-edge changes
in the ways that we should be teaching undergraduate biology,"
said Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of
Sciences. "They will play a vital role in better preparing all
students for life in a world that will be increasingly
dominated by science and technology, as well as attracting some
of them to a career in biomedical research."
The National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate
Education in Biology was held in August at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison. Major funding for the institute was
provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, along with
support from the host university and the National
Academies.
Originally published in Campus.News on November 8,
2004.
Published
November 15,
2004
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