Welcome to Summer Ventures 2007
New! Photo Galleries
Tentative Summer Ventures Calendar (.pdf file)
2007
Student Handbook (.pdf file)
Course Descriptions
Coastal Geology
Students in this course will conduct field and laboratory studies
using geological techniques throughout the unique environment of the Atlantic
coastline in the southeastern United States. Measurement and analysis of the
materials and the geologic and environmental processes that form the diverse
beaches, islands, lagoons, channels, and tidal creeks in New Hanover County will
be utilized to examine specific questions, problems, or issues. Students will
observe and discuss processes characteristic of barrier islands and inshore
waters, while learning pertinent techniques such as air photo/map
interpretation, surveying, profiling, sediment and water sample collection and
analysis techniques, biological collecting techniques, and statistical analyses.
Students will have latitude to create projects that fit their interests within
the time frame of this program. Results and observation of the student
investigation will be presented in a professional forum at the end of the
program.
Instructors: Dr. Michael Smith, Mr. Steve Clark.
Coastal Meteorology and Geography
Students in this course will conduct field studies of the
microclimatology of beaches, islands, lagoons, channels, and tidal creeks in New
Hanover County. Measurement of meteorology variables will be combined with field
mapping, aerial photography analysis, and computer mapping to determine the
controls of microclimate zones in southeastern North Carolina. Students will
observe and discuss daily weather patterns and their relation to the physical
landscape of New Hanover County. Specific methodologies and analytical
techniques to be included in the course are air photo/map interpretation, field
surveying and profiling, meteorological instrumentation, vegetation surveys, and
statistical analyses. Students will design final projects to fit their interests
and curiosities.
Instructors: Dr. Doug Gamble, Mr. Bryan Bishop.
Mathematical Modeling with Probability and Statistics
This course will be an introduction to some topics from
probability and statistics motivated by applications to mathematical modeling in
science and engineering as well as the management and social sciences.
Electronic data acquisition and computer analysis of physics experiments will
also be incorporated. Specific topics shall include basic concepts of
probability, descriptive and inferential statistics as well as an introduction
to mathematical model building. Using microcomputers, digitizers, and available
mathematical software, (as well as computer-controlled instrumentation such as
oscilloscopes, sound frequency analyzers, and digital multi-meters) students
will have the opportunity to apply probability and statistics to the development
of a mathematical model of a real
world process.
Instructors: Dr. Ken Gurganus, Mr. Gary Cavender.
Molecular Genetics of Marine Organisms
This course will introduce the basics of molecular genetics and
gene expression analysis. Methods of gene discovery will be explored both at the
lab bench and at the computer. Students will obtain novel data about the
sequence and expression of specific genes in organisms collected from the marine
environment. They will learn to use bioinformatics tools to explore the public
databases, align DNA and protein sequences, and design PCR primers. They will
extract genomic DNA as well as RNA, which will be reverse transcribed to make
cDNA. They will perform PCR to amplify fragments of specific genes of interest.
Depending on the research projects chosen, some students may clone and sequence
DNA, while others evaluate gene expression patterns in different
tissues or life cycle stages, while others make use of a library of cloned blue
crab genes. The goal will be to understand how molecular data is collected and
how it can be utilized to make inferences about gene function.
Instructors: Dr. Thomas Shafer, Ms. Rebecca Mayo.
Statistical Programming and Data Analysis
This course will introduce students to management, summary,
visualization and analysis of large-scale data sets. Students will have the
opportunity to work with data sets from a variety of sources including: the
census, public health organizations, economic data and other publicly available
data plus data from scientific studies in biology, genetics and other
disciplines from projects done at UNCW. Course activities will focus on using
sophisticated statistical computing tools to construct appropriate summaries,
analyses and/or models for the data in question.
Instructors: Dr. Jim Blum, Mr. David Glasier.
