Hope College Biology

Marine Biology and Biophysics Expedition to Cozumel Mexico

Trip to Cozumel for Marine Biology & Biophysics Course

As part of Hope's HHMI interdisciplinary initiative, a new course, "Marine Biology and Biology" has been developed by Drs. K. Greg Murray (Biology) and Peter Gonthier (Physics), both of whom have a strong interest in marine ecosystems and scuba diving. Dr. Gonthier, in fact, is a certified scuba instructor, and Dr. Murray began his diving "career" while a California resident many years ago.

The course has been offered twice, most recently this past spring semester. Students spend much of the semester learning about marine organisms and ecosystems, physics principles in relation to marine environments, and they investigate the physics behind selected adaptations of marine creatures.

Several of the early labs in the semester are devoted to scuba diving lessons, so that all students are certified in SCUBA before spring break. During spring break, participants travel to the island of Cozumel, Mexico and explore reefs on dives at various depths, two or three times a day! The course will next be offered Spring 2010.

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