My stomach was never too good, particularly early in the season, and we were always pounding along in big seas in the open ocean. And then, when it would be time for our summer vacation, we would do the same thing. Seemann, then, has grown accustomed to overcoming obstacles. During his IO years as department chairman, biochemistry has grown into one of the most productive departments, both in research and undergraduate education. Today, enrollment has grown to 226 - among the top three on campus and the largest in a department outside of the College of Arts and Science.
Biochemistry consistently ranks among the top three life science departments for funded research.
Perhaps most importantly to Seemann, biochemistry's faculty remains committed to undergraduate education. The undergraduate program features a required yearlong senior research project, complete with written grant proposals, independent experiments and a final presentation given to the entire faculty. Given biochemistry's success, it's not surprising the department promises to be one of the key players as the College of Agriculture increases emphasis in biotechnology, including molecular biology and genomics. We are bringing in nationally and internationally recognized scholars in the area of plant and animal genomics to add to our already successful faculty. Biochemistry has already made three hires in the area of genomics - two in plants and one in insects.