The broad goal of this application is to accelerate and facilitate the seamless integration of physical and mathematical sciences into the undergraduate biology curriculum of a large public university. The plans outlined in this proposal will enable us to design and execute a critical component of a broader reorganization of the undergraduate biology curriculum, which was initiated one year ago. We have identified two overarching goals. The first goal is to cultivate a substantial cadre of students with advanced skills in both biology on the one hand and mathematics, engineering, chemistry, computer science or physics on the other. The second goal, which supports the first, is to educate all biology students to be much more familiar with quantitative approaches than is traditional in biology programs. To achieve these goals we propose 4 specific aims. We will develop and launch a required freshman class introducing students to the application of mathematics in biology. This class will show students how to use a mathematical software toolbox that they will carry with them throughout their undergraduate careers. Subsequently, we will systematically introduce quantitative examples and exercises into high enrollment intermediate level biology courses. At the same time, we will launch a minor degree in Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics that will take students majoring in either biology or a mathematical or physical science, and complement their coursework with interdisciplinary studies. In the steady state we expect to have about 20% of biology students graduate with this minor degree. As part of the Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics minor, we will institute a program of undergraduate interdisciplinary research in which well-prepared undergraduates will be placed in the research labs of faculty members from different departments. An integral part of this proposal is a plan to disseminate our ideas and progress through participation in national meetings, partnering with organizations already established as hubs of national networks, and the open dissemination of course material from our website.
