Albion College Biology Department

Welcome to the web pages of the Albion College biology department! In biology we exemplify Albion's credo, 'liberal arts at work.' Our majors learn by doing, by experiencing biology in the field and lab, both on campus in the recently-opened Science Complex and the 135-acre Whitehouse Nature Center, and at more distant locations, such as the forests and coral reefs of Belize and southern Florida, where our tropical and sub-tropical biology courses take major field trips.

Our alums include many noted research scientists, physicians and educators. Because of our long tradition of preparing Michigan students for medical school, if you live in our state, you probably know a great physician who is an Albion grad.

Albion's biology faculty have diverse research interests that include molecular genetics of sharks and fruit flies, invertebrate parasitology, cavity-nesting bird behavior and ecology, plant-animal ecological interactions, algal ultrastructure, microbial community structure in lake-river-stream biofilms, shark reproductive biology, gene flow and genetic variation in isolated, endangered plant populations, and tropical plant systematics.

Central to an Albion College biology education is developing a greater ability to formulate and test hypotheses, both in course projects and in independent research supervised by a faculty member.

The biology internship program and the resources of Albion College's Institute for the Study of the Environment (EI) and Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (FURSCA) provide additional opportunities for our students.

As you view these pages, I hope that you find information that will excite you about the possibilities of a biology major at Albion College.

Sincerely,

E. Dale Kennedy
Chair

The Atrium: the New Site of Protein Synthesis

Tyler Milward, Erica Tauzer, and Elizabeth Heimler working on core samples from a local bog.

Adam Hiday and Erica Tauzer "fishing" for Daphnia to study predator/prey cycling between Daphnia and Euglena during an Ecology lab exercise.

See student-authored publications at Albion College at:

http://www.albion.edu/fursca/publications.asp.