UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HANDS-ON LEARNING

The Timberlake Biological Field Station is an outdoor, handson laboratory and longtime working cattle ranch that advances environmental research, engages students in scientific discovery and promotes stewardship of the natural world. Students can research aquatic ecology, biology, chemistry, sociology, geospatial analyses, herpetology, hydrogeology, landscape management, plant ecology, sustainability, water quality and wildlife management.

The Department of Mathematics operates a high-performance computer modeling laboratory using advanced NVIDIA graphics processing units. Successful students can use their modeling knowledge from this course to conduct and present independent research in a wide area of research area spanning all of the STEM fields. Current and past projects range from Biomedical projects such as dynamically modeling the human heart to astrophysics projects such as modeling how the Earth-Moon system was formed.

Scientific discovery. Undergraduate students find and name their own bacteriophages as part of the Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science program, administered by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science Education division. Students first dig in the soil to find new viruses, then they work through a variety of microbiology techniques and complex genome annotation and bioinformatics analyses. The program aims to increase undergraduate interest and retention in biological sciences through immersion in research.

Stargazing. Beneath the iconic copper dome of the Lamar Johanson Science Building, the Tarleton Planetarium provides a spectacular, immersive view of the stars. The facility features a Digistar 5 projection system, 5.1 surround sound and accurate images to bring the wonders of space to students, faculty, staff and visitors.

Undergraduate research. COSM faculty work closely with students to provide opportunities to conduct research. These experiences enable students to build on their classroom knowledge by studying real-world problems and generating résumé worthy results for journal publications and conference presentations.

Internships. For many STEM students, internships provide an important mechanism to begin their professional careers. By working with companies such as Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopter, students gain experience in a corporate environment that propels them toward success and often gets them hired (by the same company) shortly after they graduate. Internships also are available at the Tarleton research centers — the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research, the Texas Analytics Institute and the Center for Agribusiness Excellence.

Summer Research Showcase: The annual College of Science and Mathematics Summer Research Showcase in August of each year highlights the hard work of our faculty and students conducted primarily during the summer term. It provides an opportunity for College and University colleagues to celebrate our research efforts as well as providing students an opportunity to build and hone their communication skills.