In addition, the historical development of biological thought and the ethical implications of biologists' achievements are incorporated into many courses. The biologists feel strongly that a broadly based knowledge of the processes of biology is the best possible preparation for either further study or employment.
Most majors pursue academic careers in biology or become health professionals.
Others work in such diverse fields as government service, business, law, journalism, public health, teaching, and environmental consulting. The department is well equipped for today's laboratory and field work at all levels of biological organization and expects students to understand the experimental basis for current ideas in biology and to creatively apply this understanding to new ideas and research problems. Students have numerous opportunities to undertake independent research and can work with computer graphics in molecular modeling, computer-enhanced microscopic imaging and neurophysiological recording, polymerase chain reactions and gene cloning, radioimmune assays, and acoustic signal analysis, for example. The Biology Department also uses field vehicles to take students to sites ranging from the Pacific Ocean to the Mojave Desert to study the animal and plant populations. David Becker, a plant physiologist, studies the molecular details of the effect of heat stress on photosynthesis.