The Interdisciplinary Laboratory

In the Fall of 1998 Harvey Mudd College was named as one of ten undergraduate colleges to receive from the National Science Foundation a prestigious grant designated as an Award for the Integration of Research and Education. This award recognized the College for its excellence in the past integration of research and education and provided funds to develop a new and exciting educational venture - The Interdisciplinary Laboratory.

The Interdisciplinary Laboratory will attempt to bridge together laboratory experiences from Biology, Chemistry, and Physics and will seek to illustrate commonality of investigative methods and laboratory techniques in these sciences in addition to introducing discipline-specific principles. This laboratory will be taught by a team of faculty from Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. During the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 academic years, one pilot laboratory section of students will undertake a first-year laboratory sequence that includes the Interdisciplinary Laboratory. Generally, first-year students enroll in Chemistry 25 and 26, each a one unit laboratory course meeting in the fall and spring semesters, respectively, and Physics 28, a one unit laboratory course meeting in the spring semester. Those students enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Laboratory, a one unit laboratory in both the fall and spring semesters, will substitute this course for Chemistry 25 and Physics 28.