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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Senate Committee on University Priorities

Memorandum

TO:

FROM:

RE:

Proposal for a Major and Honors

DATE:

March 13, 2006

Program in Biological Physics,

Faculty of Sciences (SCUP 06-12)

S.06-50

demic

At its February 22, 2006 meeting SCUP reviewed and approved the proposal from the

Faculty of Science for a Major and Honors Program in Biological Physics.

Motion

That Senate approve and recommend to the Board of Governors, the proposal for a

Major and Honors Program in Biological Physics.

end.

cc. B. Frisken

SCUP OG-12

• ?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

• .

MEMORANDUM

To: ?

Senate Committee on University Priorities

From:

C. MacKenzie, Chair

Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies

Subject: ?

Faculty of Sciences - new Biological Physics Major and Honors program

(SCUS Reference: SCUS 05-29 g)

Date: ?

February 8, 2005

Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies at its meeting on

February 7, 2006 gives rise to the following motion:

Motion:

"that SCUP approve and recommend to Senate the new Biological Physics Major and Honors

program."

The relevant documentation is attached for review by SCUP.

Cft

, d Cc

Biophysics Program Proposal

October 2005

Program Proposal

Biological Physics

November 2, 2005

I. ?

Introduction

This proposal is for a highly interdisciplinary undergraduate science program leading to

a BSc focused on the physical foundations of biology emphasizing micro- and

nanoscale phenomena of the cell and its components as measured and interpreted

using physical techniques and theory.

Still in its infancy, this interdisciplinary field will find application in the wider world

through the development of biosensors, sophisticated mechanisms for drug delivery

based on synthetic cells and biocompatible materials for medicine and dentistry, as well

as answering fundamental questions such as the principles of macromolecular design

and the physical foundations of evolution and the emergence of life. Research at the

intersection of the biological and physical sciences has emerged as a high priority

internationally, as recognized by both the American Physical Society

(http://www.aps.orglmeetlbiology-physics2l

) and the National Institutes of Health

(http://www.nigms.nih.gov/funding/complex

—systems.htmi).

SFU has already achieved national visibility through its research in this area. The

impressive, if not astonishing, number of new SFU faculty with strongly interdisciplinary

backgrounds in biology, chemistry and physics has also positioned us to become a

leading institution in this field. It is entirely appropriate that we capitalize on this

expertise through the development of an undergraduate program in biological physics.

Only a few universities in Canada have yet undertaken such a program, and even fewer

have the numerical strength of faculty in this area that SFU has. Physics students

graduating from such a program will be better prepared to tackle interdisciplinary

problems at the boundaries between physics and the life sciences. Life science

students with a better background in physical science and mathematics will be able to

tackle increasingly-quantitative problems in biology, as suggested by the recent report

of the US National Academy of Sciences study entitled Bio201 0

(http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news

. nsf/isbn/0309085357?OpenDocument).

Bio

sics Program Proposal

October 2005

II. Program Description

This proposal includes both majors and honors streams, each consisting of a core of

lower and upper division courses, along with four additional upper division courses

chosen from courses offered by MBB and Physics; students may also take MATH 462

Fluid Mechanics as part of this degree. The Majors program includes 67-68 lower

division and 36 upper division credits. Students desiring an Honors degree would

choose between two options outlined below. Possible sequences of courses can be

found in the Appendix to this proposal.

These students will meet the new general undergraduate curriculum requirements

(WQB) in the following ways:

• Students will automatically meet their 0 requirements,

• Students will be able to use BISC 101/102 to satisfy B-Sc requirements,

• Students can most efficiently fulfill their lower division W-intensive

requirement and a B requirement by making sure that one of their B-Hum or

B-Soc courses is writing-intensive,

• Designed as a W-intensive lab course, PHYS 433 Biophysical Laboratory can

be used to satisfy upper division W-requirements.

• There are 6, 4 and 5 electives in the Major, Honors (physics stream) and

. ?

Honors (MBB stream) respectively. These should be used to satisfy other

breadth requirements. ?

Students can use the chemistry courses as

undesignated breadth.

IV. Calendar Description

Biological Physics Major Program

This program is designed for students who are interested in using physical approaches to tackle

biological problems. Students should speak with an advisor as soon as possible to schedule

their programs.

Lower Division - 67-68

LD credits

Students must complete all of

General Chemistry and Laboratory I

Electricity, Magnetism and Light

Physics Laboratory I (P1-JYS 140/141 exempt)

Genetics

Organic Chemistry and Laboratory I

Biophysics Program Proposal

And either PHYS 285-3

Or CHEM 260-4

Upper Division —36

UD credits

Students must complete all of

Elementary Linear Algebra

Calculus Ill

Vector Calculus

Cellular Biology and Biochemistry

Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

Intermediate Mechanics

Intermediate Electricity and Magnetism

Physics Laboratory II

Waves and Vibrations

Introduction to Relativity and Quantum Mechanics

Atoms, Molecules, Spectroscopy

Differential Equations

Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Laboratory II

Molecular Physiology

Molecular Biology

Introduction to Biological Physics

Quantum Physics

Biological Physics Laboratory

and one of

MBB 323-3 or PHYS 344-3 or CHEM 360-3 [Thermodynamics]

and 4 other UD MBB or Physics courses. MATH 462 may be included amongst these 4. The

following courses are suggested:

MBB 308-3 ?

Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Laboratory I

MBB 321-3

Intermediary Metabolism

MBB 403-3

Physical Biochemistry

MBB 413-2

Physical Biochemistry Laboratory

Protein Structure and Function

Special Topics in Physics

Biological Physics Honors Program (15-17 additional UD credits)

Honors program graduates may do graduate work in either physics or in molecular biology, or

Additional Upper Division Requirements

Either (Option A)

MBB 493-15 ?

Individual Study Semester

Or all of (Option B)

PHYS 384-3

Methods of Theoretical Physics I

PHYS 415-3

Quantum Mechanics

Biophysics Program Proposal

Electromagnetic Theory

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Statistical Physics

Although much of the program can be built on existing courses, two new courses

(lecture and lab) are required. These courses define the program and bring together

faculty and pedagogy from different departments. We will also regularize a current

biannual offering of a special topics course on biological physics. Several of these

courses could be shared between departments, and not all need be offered annually.

Course outlines are included in documentation for Senate.

PHYS 347-3 Introduction to Biological Physics

This third year course introduces the discipline of biological physics, bringing together

physical and biological approaches to biophysical problems. To make the course

broadly accessible, the prerequisites are simplified to 45 undergraduate credit hours,

including first-year biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. This course

incorporates some essential mathematical methods including differential equations and

statistics.

PHYS 433-3 - Biological Physics Laboratory

This course is modeled after a biophysics laboratory developed by Ray Goldstein at

University of Arizona. Experimental techniques covered will include optical tweezers,

NMR, light scattering, and spectroscopy and experiments will be designed with a

biological focus. We intend to design the course so that it will be suitable for

certification as a W-intensive course.

The course will also have a focus on data

analysis and will build on basic data analysis as covered in PHYS 231.

Biophysics Program Proposal

October 2005

Appendix -

Recommended Sequence of Courses

Semester

Major Biophysics

Honors Biophysics

(MBB) CR

Si or

FALL

S2 or 1-2

SPRING

or 2-2

133