1.0Lafayette Magazine Fall 2011https://magazine.lafayette.edu/fall2011gaulahttps://magazine.lafayette.edu/fall2011/author/gaula/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="EyIbFMWNs6"><a href="https://magazine.lafayette.edu/fall2011/2011/11/18/beyond-biology/">Beyond Biology</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://magazine.lafayette.edu/fall2011/2011/11/18/beyond-biology/embed/#?secret=EyIbFMWNs6" width="600" height="338" title="“Beyond Biology” — Lafayette Magazine Fall 2011" data-secret="EyIbFMWNs6" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> https://magazine.lafayette.edu/fall2011/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2011/11/FbiologyFall2011FEATURED.jpg960400New health and life sciences minor enables students to transcend disciplinary boundaries to solve complex problems. by Jill Spotz | photography by Chuck Zovko How can signal processing be used to develop ways for the human brain to communicate with external devices? How do mathematical models enhance the understanding and control of the transmission of infectious disease? Addressing complex health issues that affect the entire world requires knowledge from many different disciplines. Indeed, they call for systems thinking — understanding how parts influence each other within a whole. For instance, water, air, plants, and animals are inextricably connected in ecosystems. In organizations, people, structures, and procedures interact in ways that yield a healthy, successful outcome or decline and failure. “Today, the world’s most complex problems lie at the intersection of at least two fields,” says Robert A. Kurt, associate professor of biology and chair of the College’s new health and life sciences minor. “This minor guides students in building connections between disciplines, preparing them to solve these interdisciplinary problems.”