Last Updated: 9/05/07 Site Information
	Semester Project Information
	THE SEMESTER PROJECT A.  Introduction You need to commit to a term paper or alternative project by the first exam.  This is a science oriented course, and a research paper or project is a requirement for every student in this course.  I expect you to use a scientific approach and display good scholarship.  The alternative projects need to be well researched and demonstrate an amount of work equivalent to writing a research paper. All term papers and most of the alternative projects for this course are due on the Friday of the eighth week of class.  Some of the alternative projects have different deadlines, both for signing up and for turning in the projects.  You can find the deadlines for papers and projects in the appropriate sections of the syllabus.  Generally, most people choose to do a term paper.  In lieu of writing the paper, some of you in Math, Art, and many other majors may prefer to do some other sort of non-trivial project.  There are, however, some requirements so that a project is not easier than a paper but just more in tune with your best mode of expression and your area of interest.  If this sounds like you, then turn to the section below that lays out the information regarding the ground rules and potential types of alternative projects.  IF YOU ARE NOT DOING A PAPER, YOU MUST DECIDE ON YOUR PROJECT AND SIGN-UP OR PROVIDE US SOME WRITTEN STATEMENT OF INTENT BY THE DEADLINES GIVEN BELOW.  NO PROJECTS WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT A PRIOR APPROVED PROPOSAL. Only those projects deemed suitable, relevant and sufficiently ambitious will become a reality, e.g. a single drawing or painting, or baking a couple of loaves is definitely not ambitious enough and ceramics usually is not biological enough.  If your project is not approved you need to do a paper.  The last constraint is that the project must be for this class alone. Alternative Projects The idea for the projects listed below is not that they are easier than the paper, just that they are more in tune with your best mode of expression and area of interest.  This list includes many of the common alternatives done in the past as well as some projects that I'd like to see tried but are rarely attempted.  Of course this list is not exhaustive.  If you have a creative idea that you think will really suit you and be appropriate for the course, please feel free to submit a proposal.  General Advice:  The projects for this course are not trivial, so don't look here if you are only trying to get out of doing a term paper.  We want this project to be a reflection of your best effort, one in tune with your strengths and your best mode of expression.  Often these projects are more work in the long run than the paper, but usually they are a lot more fun and rewarding both for you and for those of us who get to see, taste or experience them.  Inventiveness, creativity and imagination are encouraged.  But remember, whatever you do has to relate, in some way, to the scope of this course.  Some of the projects in the list below are straight forward (e.g. brewing beer) while others offer the opportunity for wide artistic license.  Choose what suits you best.  Even with those that seem straight forward, there is a lot of room for creativity in the presentation and execution of the project.  Still, in grading many different projects over the years, we have encountered many of the same problems again and again.  Here are the common ones.  As you start working on your project keep these potential pitfalls in mind. Example Alternative Projects: a.    Prepare an annotated bibliography.  This should be extended and well organized on a topic of our mutual interest.  See me on this one. b.    Photographic collection.  Not only do you need a theme here, one that pertains to the course, but you will be graded on the aesthetics.  Your artistic intention is important and you need to make sure it is communicated to us. c.    Create a pod cast on some topic for me to use in subsequent years. We have one on optical illusions and another on soft systems methods problem solving. We need a well delivered final project. d.    Write a graphically focused computer program for a mid-level MacIntosh or a Pentium PC with 64 meg RAM to be used for a demonstration in lab. The hardware limitations are important here, as this is the level of technology we are guaranteed to have available.  If you are thinking of doing this one, see me early so I can guide you.  In past years some people have attempted morphing programs for the vegetables in the cabbage family or for the fruits in the rose family.  With the morphing software out there today I think one could create a nice visual display here.  Pick up the special handout from the TA in lab. e.    Write a computer program must be discussed with the professor before hand. f.    Invent your own project.  Be creative.  Use your imagination.  Possible projects might be an oral report, a multi-media presentation, a demonstration for the lab, plant dyes, a photographic exhibition (aesthetic quality as well as theme), or an exhibit in the main lobby of Birge Hall.  Sculpture and paintings are generally discouraged, although if you have an inspiration for a piece or series of works, you are welcome to submit a proposal.  We once had a music student who composed a piece for string quartet in seven movements around the theme of a plant life cycle and enlisted the aid of several musical friends to perform the piece for us.  We were skeptical at the proposal, but that string quartet was an A+ effort. Listed below are three Alternative projects that are very popular with students. We have given more details so that you may contemplate if they wish to do one of these alternative projects. g.    Beer Brewing.  The only requirement for this project is that you provide us with a couple of bottles of your beer by the due date.  If you want some insurance, you can write a report, or do a video of how you made your beer.  Creative labels and packaging can help you too, but all these things are extra credit.  It is your beer that will earn you the bulk of your grade.  We encourage you to do this as a group project with other classmates.  This one is often more work that you expect and it can get expensive.  If you need to purchase the equipment and supplies, sharing the cost with friends is a big help.  You must sign up for this project in writing to the head TA by the end of the third week of class.  There is a limit to 30 groups, first come, first served.  We know beer takes time to mature, but all must be in by the beginning of the eleventh week.  We advise starting this project by the second week (check Section II.B.: Lecture and Lab Schedule for exact dates). h.  Digby Dinners.  This project consists of reading the Digby Anderson articles, and then cooking a meal in that spirit. On the face of it, this might seem simple enough, but the standards that Anderson demands are not so easy to meet. There is more to it than preparing good food, for that is only a minimal requirement. There are standards of style, knowledge, and etiquette beyond the preparation of food. See syllabus for details. Students take our grades too seriously, as if we were assessing you as a person; criticism is hard to take. It is a pity, but the same seems to apply to a Digby dinner in spades. Of course, the grade is really only a numerical assessment of that local performance—one is allowed to be a less than brilliant writer without being a worthless person, and the same applies if you have something to learn about cooking for company. Standards are high and subjective: a B for a Digby dinner is a very respectable grade. I. Bread Baking. This project requires lots of practice and experience with baking-you are unlikely to get an A without lots of practice with your chosen recipes!!! We require whole loaves in order to assess the quality of your bread-do not give us partial loaves or slices. With this project, simply baking a loaf will not be adequate. The grading of bread takes into account all of your breads, so unlike in the beer project, in baking the failures cost you. There is a series of restrictions, the purpose of which is to get you away from mainstream simple breads at least once or twice. You must follow these directions to the letter, unless the Professor gives a dispensation in writing. The best efforts can come with some sort of theme, such as your family breads, or a certain season of breads, or breads from different continents. To stick to a theme you may need me to relax some of the restrictions. Ask me and I will say yes or no. There are five basic types of bread listed below the following restrictions: Restriction 1: You need to bake four of the five types. Restriction 2: At least two of your breads need to be a fancy decorated bread. For instance, Danish pastries, Christmas Cake, Elaborately woven bread, Wheat sheaf form. Gingerbread men. Restriction 3: At least 2 breads must be savory (not sweet), and at least one must be sweet. Restriction 4: At least one bread must be distinctly not US or European (e.g Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese or South American). As a measure of how not US it has to be, while Challah is Israeli, and tacos are Mexican, both are common breads in the US and do not count as Non-US. You can still do them as one of your other breads. The five main sorts are: I. Unleavened Bread: these have no leavening agent, and therefore, cannot be big and thick, because they would turn out like bricks. All these breads are thin and usually crispy. Leavened Breads - 2 through 4 are all varieties of leavened breads. There is an agent that produces a gas, carbon dioxide, which forms bubbles in the bread, and that allows these breads to be big and thick, without turning into bricks. ii. Quick Bread: these breads have a chemical leavening agent, which release carbon dioxide when it is heated in the cooking of the bread. iii. Yeast Bread: here the leavening agent is yeast, which creates alcohol and carbon dioxide through the process of fermentation. The alcohol evaporates off in the baking. Often there are two or three phases of leavening. Once the dough rises to make big bubbles, it is then pressed down and allowed to rise again. Also, the bread rises in the cooking as the CO2 gets hot and expands. iv. Sour Dough: this is a variant of yeast bread, but bacteria are introduced in the starter. These bacteria convert alcohol to acetic acid, vinegar. v. A fifth option is Angel Food, where the gas is air, which gets into the bread through whipping it in. You can be more imaginative than regular Angel food here, since any time you whip eggs and fold in the flour, the leavening agent is whipped air. (Whipped egg white Meringue would be an angel food bread even though it has no flour in it.) You need to make an appointment as to when your bread is to be delivered so that we can be ready to eat it as part of our evaluation. It is not fair on those whose bread would otherwise have to wait a day to get graded because we can only sample so much bread in a day. It would be helpful if we have some written introduction about the breads (recipe, history), so we know what is special about it. Sometimes the quality of the written account is better than the bread and that helps with the grade. So the more effort you put into the written presentation, the better insurance you have on your grade. Also we are interested in any narrative about the origins or your personal history with the recipes you use. Some breads are more daring than others, and like platform diving you get extra points for even trying a triple back flip with a half turn. (E.g. proper French croissant, real French baguettes). However, excellent versions of wonderful old standards can get top grade so long as they are indeed truly excellent. If you want some insurance, you can write a report, or do a video of how you made your breads. It may take such written material to show off your theme. You will need to provide a fresh sample of each of your four major types of bread. We will try your breads and grade them for quality and consistency expected for each type you made. Your written materials here should show us you knew what your were doing and why. Creativity and originality can mean a lot on this one. We once had a student write, illustrate, and hand bind a little cookbook for the breads they prepared. If you have any questions talk to me or one of the TAs.