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| Vol. 24, No. 7 | Oct. 23, 1998 |
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| Vol. 24, No. 7 | Oct. 23, 1998 |
MORE THAN A DOZEN COLLEGES HAVE PARTNERED WITH COLUMBIA TO SEND THEIR OWN STUDENTS TO BIOSPHERE 2
By Faye S. Yates
Since Columbia took on management of Biosphere 2 in 1996, more than 300 students have studied earth and environmental science through Earth Semester, a program that has become so popular that more than a dozen colleges and universities have now partnered with Columbia to send their own students to Biosphere 2.
"Columbia had a great idea when it came up with this program," says Professor Thomas Millette, a geologist at Mount Holyoke College, one of the partner schools. "The whole concept of a shared resource should serve as a national model."
In addition to Mount Holyoke, the partner schools include Rice, Notre Dame, Morehouse, Occidental, Pomona, Spelman, Arizona State, Rollins, Smith, University of Connecticut, TCU and University of Maryland.
'SEMESTER ABROAD AT BIOSPHERE 2' Earth Semester was designed by Debra Colodner, a young Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientist who excels in teaching. Colodner was asked to develop a unique undergraduate program in earth and environmental science, modeled on the "semester abroad" prototype. The program set out to attract students from across the country interested in studying the earth's system and environmental policy.
"Clearly, it had to be interdisciplinary to meet these criteria," Colodner says . "At the very least, we needed to bring together a biological scientist, a physical scientist and a social scientist to team-teach the courses. That way, the students could see how all the pieces of the earth's system fit together."
Thus, in the spring of 1996, Colodner designed Earth Semester and hired a team of professors in the biological, physical and social sciences. The course integrates traditional lectures with team teaching and mentored research -conducted both independently and in groups. Faculty and Biosphere 2 researchers alike serve as mentors. In addition to classroom learning and laboratory research, students also participate in 8-day, 4-day, and 1-day field trips to such places as the Grand Canyon, Mt. Lemmon, the Sea of Cortez and the Petrified Forest.
ENHANCING BARNARD AND COLUMBIA COLLEGE SCIENCE PROGRAMS
Barnard President Judith R. Shapiro points out that her college recognized the enormous potential of the program and joined forces with the Biosphere 2 Center early on, helping to craft several of Biosphere 2's programs. Now Barnard is sending students to Arizona each semester to reap the benefits of the program.
According to Shapiro, "Biosphere 2 allows Barnard to build on its pioneering environmental science program, providing exceptional research opportunities for our students. They have the best of both worlds-studying in the heart of Manhattan and in the beautiful Arizona desert."
Two Barnard and five Columbia College students-Melisa Chan and Kathleen Coletti from Barnard; and Craig Hoverman, Hephsie Loeb, Adrian MacDonald, Autumn Stevenson and Caroline Wingo from Columbia College-are currently attending Earth Semester.
Although the program is open to qualified undergraduate students throughout the world, partner schools encourage and channel interested students to enroll in the program for a "semester abroad" experience they can have without the expense of traveling outside the United States. The Biosphere 2 research facility, located on a beautiful 250-acre campus in Oracle, Ariz., is a major draw for students. The campus is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, but is just a 30-minute drive from Tucson.
Coletti, a Barnard junior, says of her Earth Semester so far: "The classes at Biosphere 2 have given me practical field experience and the ability to understand the differing opinions and responses to research results."
A LIFE-ALTERING EXPERIENCE
"Three of our students who took the course last spring told me it was a life- altering experience," says Charles F. Kulpa, professor and director of the Center for Environmental Science & Technology at Notre Dame. "One of the things the three appreciated most was being part of a diverse student population with a wide array of career goals," Kulpa adds. Kulpa explained that Notre Dame plans to send a minimum of three to five students per semester to Biosphere 2.
Bill Harris, Biosphere 2 Center's president and executive director, says, "We've been delighted by the reaction to our program from colleges and universities. Now we want to internationalize the program as much as possible, so we're also developing partnerships with non-U.S. universities." Harris, a Ph.D. chemist, previously served as director for mathematical and physical sciences at the National Science Foundation from 1992-96.
Why are so many colleges and universities climbing on the Biosphere 2 educational bandwagon? Richard Herman, dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Maryland, explained it this way: "The Biosphere 2 Earth Semester is like an honors program writ large. I was positively stunned and impressed when I visited there," he says. "Everyone there-students, faculty and staff-is focused on one thing: creating a new kind of science. It's a science set in a social context." Herman also commented that the enthusiasm there is widespread and contagious. The University of Maryland plans to send at least five students each semester to the program.
Many top administrators at other partner colleges and universities pointed out that even though their schools offer strong science programs, Biosphere 2 provides a comprehensive scientific learning environment that no campus can match. Mark Emmert, provost at the University of Connecticut, says, "We've sent five students there so far this year, and their reaction is extraordinary. Earth Semester offers a unique way to study environmental issues that's unavailable in any other setting. Students live their education 24 hours a day."
For more information about Earth Semester, visit the Biosphere 2 Center Web site at: www.bio2.edu.