Science Forward

Course Materials

Macaulay Honors College

Science Seminar (HNRS 225 - 003); Fall 2023

Our classroom is B326.

Course description:

Major scientific concepts and their relationship to technological developments that affect New York City. Topics vary according to the scientific expertise of the instructor and may include the following: genetic engineering, ecological determinants, energy issues, and AIDS or other diseases. Students will read scientific literature and learn the fundamentals of science necessary to understand the readings. Attention will also be given to the historical, ethical, legal, social, and economic ramifications of a topic.

Copyright Information

Copyright information: Much of the content of this site and course (please see the top center of this page for the symbols) are licensed under the following Creative Commons license:

Attribution (BY): If you want to use my work, you must give me credit--but not in a way that suggests I endorse you or your use. Please link to this site and add the following to give me credit: "Credit: Matthew Civiletti".

No Derivatives (ND): You may copy, distribute, display and perform only original copies of my work. If you want to modify my work, you must get my permission first.

Noncommercial (NC): You may copy, distribute, display and perform my work only for strictly non commercial purposes. You may not post to Course Hero, or to any course material hosting site.

Course Logistics

We will meet on Fridays from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The official class start time is 9:10 AM, but we will hold the first 50 minutes asynchronously via the Weekly Pondering assignments. (These are class assignments described within the below "Lecture Topics" in this font.)
Each class will revolve around a topic; these are listed below under "Lecture Topics", which also specify the assignment due for each class. Each of these assignments is called a "Weekly Pondering". These will consist of a question(s) related to the topic to be discussed during that week's class.
There is is a semester-long paper due, which will accompany a presentation you will give at the end of the semester.
Your final grade will be computed via the following weighted average:

25%: Final presentation
25%: Final paper
25%: Participation
25%: Weekly Pondering assignments

There are no exams or quizzes.
The final paper is due on December 19, 2023. A rough draft is due on December 1, 2023, by 5:00 PM. The final presentation, in which you will explain your paper, will be held on December 8, 2023. Please visit this page for more information about the paper and presentation.
A calendar of the course is provided at the bottom of the page.
There is a mandatory nature outing, called "BioBlitz", that will take place September 9-10, 2023. The site is here.
There will be a STEAM festival, which is an event dedicated to showcasing student posters, later on in the semester.
The Weekly Pondering assignments are of the assignments described in this font under the below Lecture Topics.
The participation grade will depend upon the extent to which you contribute to discussions and activities during class.