Water, Water Everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink
Instructor - Diana Duckworth
Voted by past students as one of the best Governor's School experiences and particularly relevant in light of recent droughts in Virginia, this course provides a comprehensive field-and laboratory-based study of water resources. Basic hydrology, including water movement, stream and lake dynamics, as well as sources of pollution, laboratory techniques for water quality analysis, and water treatment techniques form the core for this course. Course content also includes analysis of land use as it affects water supply, water quality, and watershed management decisions.
Body Quest: An Exploration in Anatomy and Physiology
Instructor - Kim Geier
In this aptly named study of anatomy and physiology, students spend much of the time dissecting a fetal pig and comparing it to humans. Students also spend some time comparing the anatomy of other vertebrates by dissecting a variety of specimens. In the past students have visited a necropsy lab, an autopsy lab, the College's cadaver lab, a physical therapy facility, and a museum about medicine at the time of the Civil War to see how far knowledge has come.
2D Animation and Website Design with Macromedia Flash
Instructor - Kristin Harris
This is a hands-on introductory course in the basics of animation and website design with Flash. Students will learn how to use Flash's drawing tools to design characters for an animated short and will design an educational Flash document as well as a website.
To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before:
Doing Experimental Mathematics
Instructor - Kevin Peterson
This course will engage students in experimental mathematical study of the nature of conjecture and its role in mathematical research. Students will work in groups, using software tools such as Excel, MATLAB. Maple, and Geometer's Sketch Pad, as well as pencil and paper and physical models, to explore patterns and trends found in mathematics. Groups will form conjectures based on these observations and test those conjectures. Students will explore theorems taken from a diverse range of mathematics including, but not limited to: geometry, graph theory, chaos and dynamical systems, calculus, topology, cryptography, and number theory. Neither special mathematical background nor knowledge of programming languages is prerequisite. Students will learn the software as needed.
Brave New World: Understanding Your Genetic Future
Instructor - Rebecca Ross
Topics in genetics and biotechnology will be explored in this class and will include hands-on labs on karyotyping of chromosomes, DNA electrophoresis of Lambda DNA, transformation of E. coli, DNA extraction, and lab activities on plasmids and recombinant DNA, restriction fragment length polymorphisms(RFLP's), mitochondrial DNA, probes, PCR(polymerase chain reaction), mutations, DNA sequencing, and micro-arrays. Research reports and power points on genetic disorders and on bio-ethical topics will be presented by student teams. Field trips are planned to the Virginia Tech Bio-informatics Center, the VT Virtual Reality Cave, and the University of Virginia Medical School Genetics Department.
Better Living Through (Environmental) Chemistry
Instructor - Gwen Sibert
This course will provide a hands-on introduction to the chemical interactions that shape our environment and to the chemical problems in the environment. Efforts in the area of "green chemistry" as a way of eliminating or remediating these problems will be among the topics discussed.
Compu-tekhne - The Computer as Tool
Instructor - Bob Powers
This course is an introduction to problem-solving via computer programming. Students will learn how to think about problems as programming problems, how to develop algorithms, and how to use various software tools to solve a variety of problems, including the incorporation of data gathered by remote means into programs which use that data. Students will also experiment with simple robots. Basic keyboard and mouse skills are required; some previous programming experience is preferable, but not required. The course teaches the fundamentals of Visual Basic programming, including syntax, event-driven programming, compiling applications with the native code compiler, working with controls, handling run-time errors, manipulating form and control properties, and much more.
The Science of Strength
Instructor: Steve Smith
The Science of Strength will encompass a broad range of scientific and theoretical constructs applicable to the development of a sound strength and conditioning program. The program will focus on aspects of strength and conditioning that maximize an individual's athletic potential while reducing the risk of injury. Implementing a functional and sport-specific program will provide athletes the underlying structure required to perform at their optimal level of play. Areas covered in the course include muscle physiology, biomechanics, psychological components for optimal sports performance, nutrition, and various applications for fitness testing.
The Dark Night Sky - Serious Questions for Real Astronomers
Instructors: Harold Butner and Terry Wilson
What precisely is a comet? Are we really in danger of colliding with a comet or an asteroid? Have such events happened in the earth's past? These questions will provide a starting point for an investigation of current understanding of the age, size, and nature of the universe. Students will keep a nightly journal of a variety of naked-eye observations of the night sky, will use the Internet as a source of information, will use telescopes to observe astronomical phenomena, and will analyze a variety of astronomical data in the laboratory.
The History of Life on Earth
Instructor: Brooke Haiar
This class will explore the basic principles and theories in biology, including evolution, systematics, and relationships among living and fossil animals, and will explore the similarities in body structure for vertebrates. We will also study geology, including geologic time, earth history, and plate tectonics. Discussions will include the basics of how rocks and minerals are formed and how the surface of the earth changes over time. A large part of the class will focus on the evolutionary history of life, with special emphasis on the Dinosauria. There will be field trips to the Virginia Museum of Natural History, as well as excursions into the field to see rocks and fossils firsthand.