In this issue of the undergraduate newsletter, we explore how the college is reimagining science education for the 21st century by turning the scientific gaze back on itself.
We take a bird’s eye look at the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), which is turning first-year students into cutting edge researchers. We announce the establishment of the Center for Inquiry in Math and Science, which crystallizes the college’s commitment to bringing inquiry into the heart of how science is taught. We talk to administrators and students about the Peer Leader Academy, which is educating students by turning them into educators. And we take an animated look at the research of 3-D animator Don Fussell, who’d like to see the university foster the next generation of video game creators.
In the College of Natural Sciences, we’re not just doing science, we’re living it.
Table of Contents
FRI-volutionaries
The students of the Freshman Research Initiative are advancing science while revolutionizing scientific education. Not bad at all.
Peerage
The win-win-win scenario of the Peer Leader Academy.
Better Animation Through Body Part Recycling
In order to streamline the 3-D animation process, computer scientists look to Dr. Frankenstein for inspiration.
CSI: CNS
Using evolutionary forensics, UT scientists pin down criminals who’ve been wantonly spreading viruses.
Sweet Pics
In this slideshow, check out some of the ways in which scientists use the VisLab, one of the world’s premiere facilities for visualizing complex and enormous data sets.
Cold as Ice
Buried beneath more than a kilometer of ice in the Antarctic may lie answers, or least insights, into one of the great questions confronting 21st century astrophysics: What is dark matter?
Racial Profiling vs. Math. Math wins.
According to research by mathematician William Press, racial profiling does no better in helping law enforcement officials in their task of catching terrorists than standard uniform random sampling techniques.
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