Aims of the Course

• Encompassing many elements of the discipline in a common format so as to break down a student's natural tendency to compartmentalized thinking.
  
• Using materials which reflect contemporary activity in the science, thus bringing to the course the excitement which comes from the examination of the new.
  
• Emphasizing the use of original research reports and so creating the need to explore the literature and the library - "The textbook is the literature."
  
• Introducing "hands-on" use of modern instrumentation and techniques with students having free access to instruments after training in their use.
  
• Creating situations in which students are asked to exercise increasing independence as the course proceeds, culminating in small research projects in the last part of the course. This sequence is an important element in building student confidence.
  
• Requiring that students give oral presentations and written reports in the form of journal articles, thus emphasizing the importance of developing communication skills and providing training in them.

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