Biology Department Virtual Information Session

Hello, my name is doctor Daniel Potts. I'm chair of the Biology Department and an associate professor here at Suni Buffalo State. Welcome to Buffalo State College and I'm want to speak with you today about the opportunities in our biology program for undergraduate students. Pictured here is our new science and math complex, which is our home as the Biology Department.

This new building, which is finishing its construction in spring up.

This spring an into the fall we hope to be moved into this building and Spring 21. This building contains state of the art research and teaching laboratories, modern classroom spaces, breakout rooms, student clubrooms faculty offices. This is an amazing and marvelous facility for student learning and for biological research.

The Biology Department is one of the larger departments on campus in terms of undergraduate majors. We have about 360 undergraduate biology majors.

This said Department has 10 full-time tenure track. Faculty members have a small number of adjunct professors and staff of full-time professionals who support of student learning through helping us Run Laboratories. Manage our greenhouse in our animal care facilities are chemical stock room.

Our Department, I hat is a comprehensive biology Department in that we teach courses that span the full discipline of life Sciences and biology. We teach classes and laboratory sections faculty in our Department are actively engaged in professional biological research. We facilitate undergraduate intern ships. We host scientists and professionals from across the full gamut of life Sciences disciplines.

To come to campus to meet students and give seminars. We also are engaged as a faculty and advise munavar undergraduates were very invested in in student learning success, making sure that our students are well prepared.

For a professional life is biologists and for advancing their careers and professional goals.

To do that?

We really take pride in emphasizing hands-on learning. We take pride in the opportunities that our students have for internships, and we are participating. Buffalo states really on deep commitment for undergraduate research.

Like I said, We're a comprehensive biology Department and I wanted to show you who we are as a faculty. We trained at some of the top research universities in the country an are committed to undergraduate research and matching undergraduates with opportunities in the life Sciences.

These are faculty members. Doctor Wadsworth, Doctor John, Doctor, Beeman Doctor Skerrit, whose research emphasizes self cell biology and Molecular Biology and genetics.

Doctor Pannu to doctor Snyder Doctor Perez, Puente Taha, or aquatic biologist whose research examines different aspects of stream ecology, fish Physiology and community ecology, with real emphasis on the biology of the Great Lakes.

Myself Doctor Layton and Doctor Warren or ecologists were interested in interactions between organisms and their environment. I'm a plant ecologist. Doctor Layton's train is enormous, ologist evolutionary biologist and behavioral ecologist. Doctor Warren Studies plant insect interactions in the context of environmental change, so we have a full range of disciplines represented in our in our in our Department in across our.

Faculty and this creates lots of opportunities for students interested in getting involved in undergraduate research. It also means that we can teach a real diverse range of courses of training students for a variety of careers in biology. Now, when you come to Buffalo State, you join the major we have currently be a Bachelor of Arts in biology and pending final suni approval, which I hope to get any day now. We will be offering a BS.

In Biotechnology, a Bachelor of Science and biotechnology. These are both 4 year degrees and over those four years they they are similar in that day.

You in the course of those four years, will take a variety of introductory biology and chemistry courses early on in your education as a biology major later, your third, second, 3rd and 4th year. You'll be taking upper division more advanced coursework in biology.

During the four years here at Buffalo state will be taking general education courses. Part of our commitment to liberal arts education. She take courses in the arts, courses in social Sciences, courses in history, western civilization, non western civilization, important language.

Along along with this, we encourage our undergraduates to pursue an academic minor to compliment their major field of studies. Many biology majors pursue a chemistry mine, but we have biology majors taking academic Myers across a whole range of disciplines. Meanwhile, as an undergraduate Buffalo state, we encourage students to become involved with student clubs. Get involved with campus fellowships, engage in.

Undergraduate research and the third and fourth year of your degree pursue internship opportunities. We can get hands on professional experience and helping to build your resume for the next step in your career in education.

Are bachelors degree or bachelors of Arts in biology has two areas of concentration reflecting the strengths of our Department. These concentrations help guide the student and their advisor in deciding which upper division biology classes to take so we have a really flexible concentration called Integrative Biology and this integrative biology concentration is the one where we can help you shape your degree.

To closely match your individual career goals and interests, we also have a concentration in aquatic biology. This concentration in aquatic biology involves a internships with organizations working in a fisheries and aquatic biology, environmental biology areas. So, for example, are aquatic biology students do internships with the New York Department of Environmental conservation, the DC? They do internships with US Fish and Wildlife or the US Army core of Engineers getting practical?

Hands on experience in their field.

The integrative concentration, like I said, is the most flexible. Students have the full biology catalog at their fingertips in deciding which classes to take care. Some example courses, courses in genetics, evolution, plant Physiology and ecology.

And the careers that our students, an educational goals that our students pursue in the integrated concentration or just as a diverse as our students interests. We have students go on to work in agriculture to work in healthcare and medical services involved in working in laboratory settings and environment and conservation.

This flexible concentration allows students really tailor their undergraduate degree to their individual professional goals.

The aquatic biology concentration is more structured as it be a so stupid students take courses in a theology, which is the study of fish limnology. The study of lakes and ponds up stream ecology and Fisheries Biology and that photograph of the boat is a reminder to me to tell you about the exciting opportunities at Buffalo State. It's particularly with regards to aquatic biology. Buffalo state hosts the Great Lakes Center, which is a research group of scientists.

Who are based on campus? We actually pair on the third floor along with the biology Department, biology students and biology faculty work closely with Great Lakes Center researchers in their work on researching the biology and ecology of the Great Lakes. the Great Lakes Centers Field Station is down at the end of Porter Ave just underneath the peace bridge here in Buffalo. Undergraduate students working in the biology Department at Buffalo state have the opportunity to get involved with hands on research.

If you've ever wanted to work on a boat to get out on the lakes, doing hands-on ecology, Buffalo state is the place to be. You can see a photo there in one of our classes on a Field Trip. Getting boat. I'm on a beautiful day on Lake Erie.

These students are working on a project at the Porter Ave fuel station with the Great Lakes Center and our students who pursue pursue the aquatic biology concentration. Go on to work in Natural Resources management, environmental consulting. They work is field technicians and's fishery buyout, fisheries biologists and again the internship opportunities through the aquatic biology program really set students up.

There are success getting their foot in the door with federal agencies and state agencies involved in this kind of work.

Are Bachelor science and biotechnology, like I mentioned, is pending final suni approval were very excited to offer this new program. This program will have students take courses in genetics. Newer course called applications in biotechnology, microbiology, recombinant DNA technology, cell biology, cell Physiology and biochemistry. This is a more structured degree program that has students taking a whole gamut.

Of biotechnology oriented courses with the goal of working in biotechnology related fields such as laboratory, medical technician, pharmaceutical sales. We also see this BS in biotechnology is excellent preparation for students interested in medical and dental school.

And finally, I'd like to end up by speaking about undergraduate research and internship opportunities at Buffalo State. Again, I think this is one of our really one of our areas of real strength as an undergraduate program.

Students in our Department have an opportunity to earn credits by working side by side with research faculty. You can't say that about larger research institutions or undergraduates may have the opportunity to work in a lab. They'll be working with graduate students or technicians, or possibly postdocs, much less likely to be working side by side with the primary investigator. The professor in charge of the laboratory, but Buffalo State that's the norm were much smaller. Program an undergraduate students work closely with faculty on there.

Research projects the school of natural social Sciences at Suni Buffalo State supports the early undergraduate research opportunity program. This is an opportunity for academic Lee high performing undergraduate students in their first year at Buffalo state to get involved right away in laboratory research. This is a paid opportunity. It's very exciting. We like to get our first year students involved right away and the euro programmer early undergraduate research opportunity program.

Is one way that we do that the biology Department also hosts an honors program. This is for students in their third and 4th gear is undergraduates. They office of undergraduate research at Buffalo State has had long proud tradition of supporting summer undergraduate research fellowships. These are paid summer research fellowships for undergraduates. Very competitive program. The very exciting opportunity for students to spend 10 weeks in the summer working side by side with faculty members on an undergraduate.

Research.

And like I said earlier, many of our third and 4th year students are successfully placed in professional internships in this. Set them up for success, not just in terms of getting a job after they graduate with their undergraduate degree, but setting creating the opportunity for them to great get great letters of recommendation from working professionals in support of their applications for Graduate School medical school, but I hope I answered some of your questions about studying biology at SUNY Buffalo State.

Please reach out to us at biology at buffalostate.edu if you have any questions and good luck with your studies.