Summer 2016

Module Title – Creature Feature

Instructor – Sivaraj (Shiv) Sivaramakrishnan, Associate Professor, GCD

Description – Cell and Developmental Biology relies on our ability to observe the natural world through the lens of a microscope and then to quantitatively describe our observations. This module will focus on extracting quantitative information from everyday examples abundant in nature. We will use high-speed imaging cameras and light microscopes to capture ‘creature features’ and then use ImageJ to learn how to extract quantitative information. Learn from with four simple exercises -

1 – ‘Ball drop’ – Measure the gravitational constant using image processing

2 – ‘Counting the rainbow’ – Use color to sort objects and count them

3 – ‘Bugged out’ – Quantitative description of ‘creepy-crawlies’ at Itasca

4 – ‘Swamp stomp’ - What’s in the water at Lake Itasca?

Creature Feature