Facilities
The Biology Department is housed in the Wall Academic Center. The facilities include flexible classrooms and well-equipped teaching and research laboratories. Biology instructional laboratories are equipped with networked computer stations for every two students.
Faculty offices are located near the research and teaching laboratories to make student-faculty interactions convenient.
Lab Equipment
The Biology Department's labs are outfitted for genetics, microbiology, biochemistry, developmental biology, neurobiology, immunology, anatomy, ecology, genomics, and cell biology research. Equipment available to students includes:
- Laser-scanning confocal microscope
- DNA microarray printing and scanning systems
- Real-time PCR
- 96-well fluorometer
- Epifluorescence microscopes with digital cameras and time-lapse imaging
- Stereographic 3D viewing goggles for visualizing structures
- Dual-head dissecting microscopes
- Microinjection, micromanipulators, and cryostat
- Tissue culture facilities
- Environmental chambers
- Flow cytometers
Field Studies
Biology students use the college's Ecological Preserve, Lake Campus, and College Farm to conduct field research. Other local sites include county parks and greenways. The 220-acre preserve is adjacent to the main campus and the site of many semester-long or multi-year projects.
For botanical studies, a greenhouse is available to grow plants under controlled conditions. Alternatively, growth chambers are available for plant and animal physiology experiments. Multi-year seed bank, behavior ecology, and community ecology research projects provide longitudinal perspectives and short-term projects are available as well.