Faculty and Program Series Part Three: The Faculty of Science

By USMAN YOUSAF, MACINSIDERS

The faculty of science is by far the most research intensive faculty at McMaster and is composed of a vast range of departments. These include: Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Geography and Earth Sciences, Honours Integrated Science, Kinesiology, Life Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Medical Radiation Sciences, Origins Research, Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, Physics and Astronomy, and Psychology Neuroscience & Behaviour.

Science offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programs and due to McMaster being ranked one of the top research universities in Canada, students are taught by some of the leading scientific researchers in their respective fields.

Faculty Awards:
Dr. Chris Wood of the Department of Biology and Dr. Adalto Bianchini of the Federal University of Rio Grande who are recipients of a $1,000,000 to conduct environmental research in Brazil and Canada
Beverly Goodman, who earned her PhD from the School of Geography and Earth Sciences, has been named an Emerging Explorer by National Geographic magazine
"The Biology Society" named MSU academic club of the year 2008/09

Important Contacts:

Student Inquiries: [email protected] or call 905-525-9140 Ext. 27590

For contacts in a specific department: http://www.science.mcmaster. ca/main/contacts.html

Tips for Success:

1. Don't be afraid to approach professors, TA's or IA's for extra help and clarification.
2. Keep up with recommended readings and practice problems.
3. Attend all lectures, tutorials and labs.
4. Take detailed and legible notes.
5. Make sure you are prepared and understand labs in advance.
6. Do not procrastinate!

Notable Professors:

Calculus: Lovric
Biology: Kajiura, Dushoff, Dej, McClelland, Nurse, O'Donnell
Chemistry: Lock
Astronomy: Reid
Geography: Mercier
Psychology: Ullal, Beston, Humphreys
Physics: Okon

Social and Academic Opportunities:

Co-op offered for 7 programs (Biochemistry, Biology & Pharmacology, Chemistry, Mathematics & Statistics, Medical & Health Physics, Molecular Biology & Genetics, and Physics)

Apply to become a welcome week representative (SciCo) or join program specific clubs which can be found here: https://www.msumcmaster.ca/clubs/lis...earchClubs.htm

Yearly Formal (Formaldehyde) organized by the McMaster Science Society

Faculty day during welcome week is a great opportunity to meet fellow science students

Visit the McMaster Science Society website for updates on faculty events: http://www.mac-sci.com/index.html

Looking Forward - Future Paths and Occupations:

Science can prepare you for an endless choice of career paths depending on your interests. Here are a few suggestions:

All Programs: Government Positions, Teaching, Graduate School (Medical School, Law School, Advanced Degrees, etc...)

Chemistry: Biochemist, Chemical Analyst, Analytical Chemist, Food Chemist, Industrial Chemist, Pharmaceutical Chemist, Industrial Hygienist, Lab Assistant, etc....
Biology: Research Biologist, Environmental Biologist, Conservational Biologist, Forensic Biologist, Biotechnologist, Computational Biologist, Government Positions (Healthcare), etc...
Kinesiology: Athletic Therapist, Fitness Consultant, Occupational Health Consultant, Sport Scientist, etc...
Mathematics: Mathematician, Computer Scientist, Informations Systems Consultant, Financial Analyst, etc...
Physics and Astronomy: Research, Meteorologist, Computer Programmer, Metallurgist, etc...
Medical Radiation Science: Medical Radiation Technologist, Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, Radiation Therapist, etc...
Geography and Earth Sciences: land surveyor, petroleum geologist, micropaleontologist, hydrologist, soil analyst, etc...
Psychology: Clinical Psychologist, Forensic Phsycologist, Health Psychologst, Sports Psychologist, Social Worker, Art Therapist, Music Therapist, etc...

Wooo! Go Science!

I <3 <3 <3 Science!!!!

Like I said in the queue, I think tip #3 is questionable. The key is, attend classes/tutorials if it's useful (i.e.: you don't learn on your own and if the test questions are lecture based as opposed to textbook based).

I only went to Inquiry in first year and still managed to do well. Attendance is much more important in upper year courses though.

Great article! <3
There's a lightbulb over the flask with the green stuff in it. I luffles green. :]
As for science, well, it's a great faculty - I'm not in it, but I harbor no ill will towards it.

Keeping with that theme, I think 4 is questionable for the same reason.

Some people take notes and neglect to listen to what the professor says...which is all fine and good for visual learners, but screws over the auditory ones.

Basically the tip is, identify what kind of learner you are for yourself. Then plan your best 'attack strategy' and use your lecture time / free time appropriately.

Great article. About the tips, they're pretty much the same for every faculty :S. Maybe you can add a few more tips about the labs and such, since a lot of science courses have them !

Labs are generally the easy part of the course. Well from my first year experience plus the two organic chems. I guess, come prepared for the lab by reading the manual and doing the prelab and you should do well in the labs. It can stressful sometimes and long and boring but...you'll get used to them. A couple of the first year chem labs were fun. But most were boring.

Some things specific to Kinesiology:

We have our own Faculty Day! During Welcome Week, Kin is separate from the rest of Science. We also have our own student society, and our own semi-formal.

Notable professor: Dr. Parise, KIN 1A03/1AA3

Originally Posted by KRan

Some things specific to Kinesiology:

We have our own Faculty Day! During Welcome Week, Kin is separate from the rest of Science. We also have our own student society, and our own semi-formal.

Notable professor: Dr. Parise, KIN 1A03/1AA3

: ) I already wrote an article for Kin. It should be posted soon =p

[quote]

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Great article. About the tips, they're pretty much the same for every faculty :S. Maybe you can add a few more tips about the labs and such, since a lot of science courses have them !

I disagree. For example, it is essential for social sciences/humanities courses to actually attend classes. It's not so important for science students. For science students you have to study for midterms, whereas for soc sci the major weight of your mark is in essays.

I'll probably write an article about lab survival. I was thinking about it for a while.



... unfortunately not that kind of lab.

Originally Posted by jesus

I disagree. For example, it is essential for social sciences/humanities courses to actually attend classes. It's not so important for science students. For science students you have to study for midterms, whereas for soc sci the major weight of your mark is in essays.

I'll probably write an article about lab survival. I was thinking about it for a while.

... unfortunately not that kind of lab.

Yup, I don't think you have to attend class to do well at all and most of the time you can use that time to study. Most profs teach the lecture notes/textbook so if you can get your hands on those you should be fine.

Also I prefer that kind of lab

Originally Posted by KRan

Some things specific to Kinesiology:

We have our own Faculty Day! During Welcome Week, Kin is separate from the rest of Science. We also have our own student society, and our own semi-formal.

Notable professor: Dr. Parise, KIN 1A03/1AA3

Well isn't it now technically a "sub-society." All the different departments have one (ie. bio society, physics society, chem society...)

Originally Posted by temara.brown

Well isn't it now technically a "sub-society." All the different departments have one (ie. bio society, physics society, chem society...)

Yes, the Kinesiology Society is now considered fully beneath the McMaster Science Society. They haven't agreed to or signed any kind of emancipation agreement, and as far as I know (as of last month) there's no plan to do so.

Thanks a lot for the article. It was really interesting to see how many careers are available for the different sciences. Being a food chemist sounds pretty cool, although it'd probably turn me off some food items.