Instructor:

Dr. Kaci Thompson
1313 Symons Hall
405-2160
email: kaci@umd.edu
Office hours: by appointment
 
 

Overview:

The goals of the Catalyst Seminar are to

• introduce new students to the diversity of research opportunities available to them in the chemical and life sciences.
• facilitate interaction among students and faculty investigators.

Students will learn about the research currently being conducted at the University of Maryland through a series of faculty seminars and informal receptions. The seminar will also provide an opportunity for students to learn skills essential for becoming successful student researchers, such as strategies for negotiating the research process, locating a faculty mentor, ethics in science, and critical analysis of research papers and proposals.
 
 

Text:

Pechenik, J.A. 2010. A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, 7^th ed. New York: Longman. The text is *required* but I am flexible about the edition. If you choose to purchase an older version, be aware that the chapter and page numbers may not correspond perfectly to the new version.

Website:

Our course's home page is accessible through ELMS. You can reach your personal area of blackboard directly by logging in to http://www.elms.umd.edu/. You can also access the syllabus and class information directly at http://www.chemlife.umd.edu/hhmi/catalyst.

Class meeting time:

3:30-4:45 Thursday, room 1140 Plant Sciences Building

Assignment of grades:

The final grade for the course will be based upon a total of 100 possible points. There will be four graded assignments: a non-tecnical summary of a high-impact research paper followed by peer review of summaries written by your classmates (30 points), a set of interview questions asked of presenters at the HHMI Undergraduate Research Symposium (10 points) a group project involving review and evaluation of grant proposals (20 points), and a brief paper focusing on the research of a faculty member of your chosing (worth 40 points). Late assignments will acrue a penalty of 10% for each day past the due date.

Format of written assignments:

The non-technical summary will be submitted using the Calibrated Peer Review system.

For the remaining two assignments, you have the option of submitting them as hard copy or in electronic form (i.e., email attachment). If you chose to an assignment electronically, it must be submitted by 3:30 pm on the day it is due. Ideally, it should be formatted in Microsoft Word. If you use a word processing package other than Word, you should save and submit the text in Rich Text Format. If I can't read your attachment I will notify as soon as I find out, but I will not extend the deadline.

Academic Dishonesty:

The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit
http://www.shc.umd.edu.

To further exhibit your commitment to academic integrity, remember to sign the Honor Pledge on all examinations and assignments: "I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this examination (assignment)."
 

Class schedule: