The School of Biology is the focal point for the institution's undergraduate programs in the life sciences. It offers the Bachelor of Science degree in applied biology and supports certificate programs in biochemistry, bioengineering, and health and performance sciences. The long-term goal of the institution is to promote student interest in pursuing careers in the biological sciences by providing stimulating and realistic laboratory experiments through the use of modern instrumentation. In order to realize this goal, computer-assisted data acquisition and processing are being introduced in the laboratory experiments. This process is expanding the experimental possibilities in many undergraduate biology laboratories. It is also shortening the time and effort required to gather sufficient data for statistical analysis, which allows the focus of a laboratory exercise to shift from data collection to data analysis and interpretation. The introduction of computerized acquisition and processing techniques is benefiting the undergraduate laboratories in three distinct areas; Image Analysis, Microbial Technology, and Environmental Biology. Automation of the measuring and storage of images is allowing students to record statistically valid data regarding the size, shape, and transparency of microscopic organisms to determine variation, biomass, and productivity of natural populations. The introduction of an automated carbon dioxide analysis system in the microbial technology laboratory courses is enabling students to record and store continuous measurements on disc and perform post-acquisition analyses to determine growth curves and metabolic rates. In the environmental biology laboratory courses, a computerized analysis system is being introduced to measure energy metabolism and respiration in whole organisms and aquatic ecosystems. *
