VT College of Science Magazine Annual 2012 | Page 4

INTEGRATED
SCIENCE
Curriculum
a t V i r g i n i a Te c h
by Jill Sible, Associate Dean and Professor

“To raise new questions, new possibilities,
to regard old problems from a new angle,
requires creative imagination and marks
real advance in science.”
– Albert Einstein

But where will we find the next generation of scientists with the imaginations, skills, and bravery to tackle the world’s most pressing problems concerning hunger, disease, poverty, water, and energy? Right
here in the College of Science.
Integrated Science Curriculum students in the lab:
(left to right) Adam Mills, Zach Colby, and Joe Humm

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COLLEGE OF SCIENCE MAGAZINE

During the past year, faculty members from across the college have
come together to envision new undergraduate programs that meet the
demands of our students, industry, and society. They are answering an
urgent call from scientists and policymakers. Five years ago, the Nawww.science.vt.edu

Four faculty teams have designed curricula that will lead to new undergraduate degrees in neuroscience, nanoscience, systems biology, and
computational science, programs that don’t fit neatly within a single
traditional discipline. Neuroscientists, for example, must draw upon
biology, chemistry, psychology, and even physics to investigate one
of medicine’s final frontiers, the brain. All of these new programs will
require a new pedagogical approach in which the learning of science
reflects the contemporary practice of science.

Enter the Integrated Science Curriculum

The Integrated Science Curriculum (ISC) began
as the brainchild of John Tyson, University Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences, as he
was leading the effort to develop a systems biology degree. Tyson recognized that the cultivation
of interdisciplinary thinking and practices had to
start early. Tyson says, “I’ve always thought this
was the right way to teach introductory science,

Science

Science

Take a look around campus and you’ll realize groups of scientists are
collaborating in nontraditional ways. Mathematicians, computer scientists, and biologists work together to build predictive computational
models of cell division that may prove to be some of our most powerful
tools in fighting cancer. Geoscientists and chemists are partnering to
address critical issues regarding the availability of key natural resources, such as purified water and natural gas. Psychologists and physicists
collaborate to elucidate the fundamental nature of decision making
through the development and implementation of such technologies
as high-resolution MRI. These scientists foster a culture of discovery,
invention, and entrepreneurship that is unfettered by traditional disciplinary boundaries.

tional Academies published an alarming report, “Rising Above
the Gathering Storm,” documenting the United States’ decline
as an international leader in science and technology. In 2011,
the follow-up report was subtitled “Rapidly Approaching Category 5.” The authors of this report have stated unambiguously: The time for curriculum reform in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is now.

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