THE BIOPHYSICS PROGRAM AT CENTENARY

The biophysics major at Centenary was created in 1992 in response to the growing need in biology and medicine for people with a solid foundation in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. The biophysics major described below resulted from extensive consultations with representatives from the graduate programs in the biological and medical sciences, as well as 12 years of feedback from students and alumni.

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Results from a medical physics experiment performed by students in the Biophysics Lab.

  
  • 3 semesters of calculus.
  • 1 year of calculus based introductory physics, 1 year of moderm physics, and the electronics lab.
  • 1 year of introductory chemistry and 1 year of organic chemistry.
  • Principles of Biology, Cell biology, and 1 year of biochemistry.
  • An upper-division class, chosen from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Mathematics.
  • A research project.
  • Biophysics and Bio-imaging. This course and lab introduces the student to classical and modern topics in biophysics. These include the dynamics of animal locomotion, the physical properties of muscle contraction, the fluid mechanics of blood circulatory systems, wave phenomena in hearing, the interaction of light with biological molecules, vision and eyesight correction, the heating and cooling of the body, the statistical mechanics of protein folding, light propagation inside biological tissue, nerve conduction, and membrane transport. In addition, the course and lab also cover physical imaging methods currently used by researchers and health professionals such as Fluorescence Microscopy and tomographic imaging (MRI, CAT, PET, ultrasound).
  • Biophysics seminar. The biophysics seminar focuses on student talks on current topics in the field and biophysical problems closer to the students's future professional interests.

In addition to the above required courses, students who wish to pursue an M.D. or Ph.D. in biomedical research are encouraged to take zoology and animal physiology. Those interested in advancing toward biophysics, biochemistry, or chemistry graduate programs should opt to take physical chemistry or thermal physics. A course in differential equations is strongly recommended for all students, particularly those that wish to pursue a science or engineering career.

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