The areas of plant and animal biotechnology utilize living organisms or their components in both basic and applied research and also in industrial processes. In response to the vast potential offered by this field, the Biology Department at the State University of New York- College at Oneonta has developed a Biotechnology Study Option for undergraduates. The key course in this study option is a one-semester interdisciplinary course entitled Biotechnology. This course provides students with an introduction to the basic techniques of biotechnology and the theory behind them. In order to accomplish this, a plant cell biologist, a microbiologist, a geneticist, and a biochemist team-teach the course, providing the necessary background to students' lectures, laboratories, and demonstrations. The NSF award enables this department to purchase two major instruments needed to launch the program -- a cell fusion system and a tabletop ultracentrifuge.
