Environmental Biology (BS)
Washington University in St. Louis
Description
The Environmental biology major will provide students with courses and research experiences that will poise them to become scientific leaders that address our most pressing environmental problems, such as: how do we feed the world without destroying the environment? How do we conserve and restore biodiversity? How do we enhance our ability to capture and store solar energy so that we can decrease our dependency on fossil fuels? The Biology department of the Washington University of St. Louis has research strengths in plant development, genetics, physiology, biochemistry and genetic engineering. Biodiversity is vital to human existence and is being destroyed at an unprecedented rate. There is a growing scientific need to understand how biodiversity is created, how it responds to disturbance and how it can be restored. The University's advanced coursework and research experiences at the Tyson Research Center will prepare undergraduate students for research in Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation. Understanding how plants, algae and bacteria capture sunlight and convert it into chemical energy in an efficient manner is key to creating advanced biofuels and man-made systems that provide new ways to collect and store solar energy. Undergraduates have the opportunity to take several advanced courses on these topics, and work in cutting-edge labs funded by the Department of Energy.