The Future of Physics in the Undergraduate Education of Biologists: Beyond the Algebra Based Course

The success of quantitative and computational methods of research in the biological sciences has incited calls for change in the undergraduate biological sciences curriculum. This reevaluation of the biology curriculum presents physicists with an opportunity to rethink and rebuild service courses such as the introductory algebra based physics course. Beyond the one-year introductory course, some of the more ambitious curricular reforms include calls for a third semester of physics for students who plan on doing biomedical research. This talk will briefly explore the open question of how we can best serve the evolving needs of our colleagues in biology by considering the calls for change in the biology curriculum such as BIO 2010 and reviewing the current state of the introductory physics course for biologists. In addition, this talk will review the successes and failures of research based courses such as the introductory calculus-based physics course for biologists at Cal State San Marcos.