Open Educational Resources (OER): Physical sciences

Chemical Biology research uses the tools of chemistry and synthesis to understand biology and disease pathways at the molecular level. Advanced Biological Chemistry interests include diverse topics such as nucleic acids, DNA repair, bioconjugate chemistry, peptides and peptidomimetics, glycoscience, biomolecular structure and function, imaging, and biological catalysis. Biophysical Chemistry represents the union of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology using a variety of experimental and theoretical approaches to understand the structure and function of biological systems.

This course provides an opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of chemistry and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them, meeting the scope and sequence of most general chemistry courses.

Chemistry Education Research and Practice (CERP) is the journal for teachers, researchers and other practitioners at all levels of chemistry education. It is published free of charge, electronically, four times a year; coverage includes the following:

-Research, and reviews of research, in chemistry education
-Evaluations of effective innovative practice in the teaching of chemistry
-In-depth analyses of issues of direct relevance to chemistry education

The objectives of the journal follow:

-To provide researchers with the means to publish their work in full in a journal exclusively dedicated to chemistry education
-To offer teachers of chemistry at all levels a place where they can share effective ideas and methods for the teaching and learning of chemistry
-Most importantly, to bridge the gap between the two groups so that researchers will have their results seen by those who could benefit from using them, and practitioners will gain from encountering the ideas and results of those who have made a particular study of the learning process

The modern human experience places a large emphasis upon the material world. From the day of our birth to the day we die, we are frequently preoccupied with the world around us. Whether struggling to feed ourselves, occupying ourselves with modern inventions, interacting with other people or animals, or simply meditating on the air we breathe, our attention is focused on different aspects of the material world. In fact only a handful of disciplines—certain subsets of religion, philosophy, and abstract math—can be considered completely unrelated to the material world. Everything else is somehow related to chemistry, the scientific discipline which studies the properties, composition, and transformation of matter.

Organic Chemistry research involves the synthesis of organic molecules and the study of their reaction paths, interactions, and applications. Advanced interests include diverse topics such as the development of new synthetic methods for the assembly of complex organic molecules and polymeric materials, organometallic catalysis, organocatalysis, the synthesis of natural and non-natural products with unique biological and physical properties, structure and mechanistic analysis, natural product biosynthesis, theoretical chemistry and molecular modeling, diversity-oriented synthesis, and carbohydrate synthesis.

Physical Chemistry is the application of physical principles and measurements to understand the properties of matter, as well as for the development of new technologies for the environment, energy and medicine. Advanced Physical Chemistry topics include different spectroscopic methods (Raman, ultrafast and mass spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic and electron paramagnetic resonance, x-ray absorption and atomic force microscopy) as well as theoretical and computational tools to provide atomic-level understanding for applications such as: nanodevices for bio-detection and receptors, interfacial chemistry of catalysis and implants, electron and proton transfer, protein function, photosynthesis and airborne particles in the atmosphere.

This course examines various GEOINT themes and issues such as the geographies of cyberspace, the geopolitics of cyberwar, techniques that might be employed in such a conflict and how they are related to censorship on the Internet, ideas on regulation and network architecture, the politics of censorship and hacking and the politics of grassroots activism enabled by cyber Internet Communication Technologies (ICT). Students will interrogate a range of information systems, the emerging landscape defined by the “geographies of the Internet,” and the impacts as they concern the intersection of ICTs and intelligence. The course will be centered on a GEOINT nexus with emphases on technology, information theory, and geopolitics.

Geography 431 is designed to further understanding of the natural processes of aquatic ecosystems, management of water resources, and threats to sustaining water quantity and quality – for all types of freshwater – surface, ground, rivers, lakes, wetlands … for geographers, ecologists, earth scientists, engineers, planners, other environmental professionals as well as those in non-science fields. This course will develop awareness and appreciation of the multiple perspectives about water as a precious resource, commodity, and sometimes hazard. We will learn how and why water is distributed unevenly in space and time around the Earth. We will examine the ways in which resource management decisions made in human society are strongly related to the availability, quantity, and quality of water. The course examines water resources management, including issues surrounding irrigation; dams and dam removal; provision of safe potable water; threats to water quantity and quality including human and aquatic ecosystem effects; land use changes; the water economy including bottled water, privatization, and water as a free good; water laws and policy; institutions for water management at the global, national, regional, and local scale; and issues of water security and climate change.

Human Geography combines economic and cultural geography to explore the relationships between humans and their natural environment, and to track the broad social patterns that shape human societies. Featuring communities around the world that are grappling with major socioeconomic change, the programs help students understand present-day events within the scope of clearly recognizable trends, and realize the impact that government, corporate, and individual decisions may have on people and places near and far. This series may serve as an introductory course for students of cultural or economic geography, or as a resource for sociology, anthropology, or social science departments. A video instructional series on geography for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 10 half-hour video programs.

A network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in physics and astronomy education

A collection of physics tutorials