In the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing, progressive and classical curricular elements lead to an active understanding of the concepts, methods, and contexts of these disciplines. The division welcomes all students—science majors and nonmajors—and offers a diverse array of introductory and advanced courses to meet the needs, interests, and backgrounds of Bard’s students, including the innovative Citizen Science program for first-year students. In all courses in the division, learning comes from doing: working in the laboratory, using computers, posing and solving problems. Students acquire not only a body of fundamental knowledge in a field but also the habits of critical and creative thinking that are necessary components in all scientific activity.
Photo by Karl Rabe
Our Programs
The Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing includes the following academic programs:
- Biology
- Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Computational Sciences
- Data Analytics
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Psychology
Studying in the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing
Bard Faculty and Students Discuss Their Work in Math and Science at Bard
The liberal arts education at Bard prepares students to excel in changing fields in the sciences and mathematics. Faculty work closely with small classes, giving students the opportunity as undergraduates to contribute to advanced research that goes on to publication and presentation at national meetings. With the Senior Project, Bardians pursue substantive, original work of their own choosing that equips them for graduate school, research positions, teaching, and industry jobs.
Science News and Events
Featured News
Bard College Celebrates Student Excellence at Annual Scholarship Reception
“We are pleased to recognize this year’s Bard Scholars, who represent the very best of what we are and what we do.” — Dean of Studies David Shein
Bard College Celebrates Student Excellence at Annual Scholarship Reception
2024 Annual Scholarship Reception. Photo by Karl Rabe
“We are pleased to recognize this year’s Bard Scholars, who represent the very best of what we are and what we do,” said Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Studies David Shein. “These students, who were selected by their faculty and deans in recognition of their contributions in the classroom and to the campus community, have demonstrated not only excellence in their work but deep care and commitment to that work and to the life of the College. We are proud of them and look forward to seeing what they will do next.”
Many of the named scholarships are made possible by generous contributions from Bard donors. Thank you to all supporters for believing in the value of a college education, and for investing in the future of Bard students.
Further reading:
Learn More about Postgraduate Scholarships and Fellowships through Bard's Dean of Studies Office
Learn More about Scholarships, Prizes, and Awards at Bard
Post Date: 11-15-2024
Recent News
-
Brooke Jude and Robert Todd Receive Grant to Support an Undergraduate Research Experience in Microbial Mapping
Brooke Jude and Robert Todd Receive Grant to Support an Undergraduate Research Experience in Microbial Mapping
Bard Associate Professor of Biology Brooke Jude and Bard Assistant Professor of Biology Robert Todd have received a $34,000 grant from the Glenn W. Bailey Foundation in support of the PLUMM Project, Project-based Learning for Undergraduates in Microbial Mapping, which will provide undergraduate students from both SUNY Dutchess and Bard College with an immersive, collaborative research opportunity.Bard College students doing microbial violacein textile dying in Professor Jude’s Biology 111: Microbes in the Environment class. Photo by Wais Kakarr ’26
In this newly grant-funded part of the PLUMM Project, Jude and Todd will conduct an intensive three-week research experience. During three weeks in January, students will have the opportunity for training in STEM laboratory techniques on multiple active research projects from the Todd and Jude Labs, taking place in the state-of-the-art laboratories in the Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation at Bard College. The overarching goals of PLUMM are to provide a solid scaffolding of laboratory, experimental design, data collection, and analysis skills that would support the successful completion of a STEM degree and enhance the students’ applications for admission into graduate school or other careers in STEM-related fields. PLUMM also builds on the strong relationships Bard College has with SUNY Dutchess to include faculty and students from both institutions working side-by-side in the lab and coauthoring conference proceedings and journal articles. Students will showcase their research projects at an annual symposium and poster session that will be open to the public.
“This opportunity to conduct research with students in this mid-semester experience will allow us to get students fully engaged in all aspects of the research questions and launch them continuation of this work in subsequent semesters,” said Jude. “The collaboration between students at Bard and SUNY Dutchess will also provide rich opportunities to set up long-term interactions and research projects.”
Post Date: 10-25-2024
-
Bard Welcome Corps Scholarships Awarded to Two OSUN RhEAP Students for 2025
Bard Welcome Corps Scholarships Awarded to Two OSUN RhEAP Students for 2025
Bard College’s Welcome Corps on Campus (WCC) program has accepted two students from OSUN’s Hubs for Connected Learning Initiatives in Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya, to attend Bard in the 2025-26 academic year. Grace George Kharthum and Ruot Wichar Duop, originally from Sudan, secured the highly coveted scholarships from WCC, a refugee sponsorship program supported by US governmental agencies and higher education institutions, after completing the Hubs’ Realizing Higher Education Access Program (RhEAP) program. At Bard, Duop plans to study computer science and English literature, with a focus on developing data, software, and machine learning to provide innovative solutions to challenges in healthcare, education, and governance. Kharthum will pursue a degree in sociology, focusing on gender, education, and global development. “My journey from a refugee camp in Kenya to Bard College in New York is a testament to the power of education and support from dedicated individuals and organizations,” said Kharthum.L–R: Grace George Kharthum and Ruot Wichar Duop will attend Bard College in New York in 2025 after being accepted into Welcome Corps on Campus program.
Post Date: 10-07-2024
-
Professor Brooke Jude’s Microbial Textile Research Featured in The Scientist
Professor Brooke Jude’s Microbial Textile Research Featured in The Scientist
Bard Associate Professor of Biology Brooke Jude’s research on pigmented microbes has been featured in The Scientist magazine. Jude is a microbiologist who studies microorganisms cultivated from water sources. When she found a sample of violacein in the Hudson River Valley, she started studying its purple pigment in her labs and eventually moved on to dyeing fabrics with it, on her own and then in her biology classes at Bard.Associate Professor of Biology Brooke Jude.
Jude’s bright purple microbial dyes caught the interest of Around the World in 80 Fabrics, an organization which supports the Ain Leuh Women's Cooperative in Morocco. The microbial dyes provide a safer and more sustainable alternative to synthetic dyes. This experience led Jude to collaborate with Hassan Ghazal, Abderrazak Rfaki, and Said Barrijal to locate and process native pigmented plants from Morocco, and they also created a guide to the new pigments for the Womens’ Cooperative. “It was just incredible,” Jude says, “they want to set up this long-term collaboration too, [and there’s an] understanding that keeping microbes native to an area, indigenous to an area, is really the way forward in our field.”
Post Date: 10-07-2024
-
Professor Clara Sousa-Silva Featured on PBS Show NOVA
-
Professor Clara Sousa-Silva Appeared as a Panelist at United Nations Summit of the Future
Professor Clara Sousa-Silva Appeared as a Panelist at United Nations Summit of the Future
Clara Sousa-Silva, assistant professor of physics at Bard College, addressed the United Nations on September 20 as a panelist at “Summit of the Future,” which brings world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future. The panel discussion, “Activating Young Scientists for Trust in Science,” was hosted by the Scientific Advisory Board of the Secretary-General at the UN Headquarters and focused on exploring ways of advancing trust in science globally among young people. The discussion was moderated by Latif Nasser, cohost of RadioLab, and the panel consisted of Sousa-Silva, Tshilidzi Marwala, the UN under-secretary-general, Andrea Hinwood, chief scientist of the UN Environment Programme, and Mohammad Hosseini, research ethicist at Northwestern University, and member of Global Young Academy.Clara Sousa-Silva, assistant professor of physics at Bard College. Photo by Bex Coates
Post Date: 09-30-2024
-
Discover Magazine Speaks with Biology Professor Bruce Robertson About Evolutionary Traps
Discover Magazine Speaks with Biology Professor Bruce Robertson About Evolutionary Traps
Evolutionary traps are problems, most often human-created changes to the environment, which animals encounter and are not prepared for through natural selection. For example, toxic plastics that look like food or artificial lights that mimic stars in the night sky but have no navigational value. Animals lack the behavioral tools to handle them and thus make maladaptive choices that make it difficult for them to survive. Discover magazine talks to Bard Associate Professor of Biology Bruce Robertson and cites his research on some of the most concerning evolutionary traps, such as sea turtle hatchlings heading inland instead of into the water due to being confused by beachfront lights or Australian death adders poisoning themselves by preying on non-native toad species. “Traps will cycle populations toward extinction extremely rapidly,” Robertson says. “They’re like demographic black holes.”Associate Professor of Biology Bruce Robertson. Photo by Karl Rabe
Post Date: 09-30-2024
Upcoming Events
-
12/06Friday12:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Hegeman 107
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Friday, December 6, 2024 | 12:00 pm EST/GMT-5 | Hegeman 107A talk by Michael Bergman, Simon's Rock
Earth’s solid iron alloy inner core was not discovered until 1936, a year after Pluto’s discovery. Its remoteness made it difficult to observe, and its temperature (over 6000 K) and pressure (3 million times atmospheric pressure) made it difficult to study its physical properties. This began to change in the 1980’s, with advances in seismology and mineral physics revealing surprising and difficult to explain properties.
The talk will begin with a review of basic deep Earth structure, its material properties, and the geomagnetic field, which is generated in the liquid iron alloy outer core. Then we will discuss some of the unusual properties of the inner core, and possible dynamical causes, which give hints about Earth’s evolution. We conclude with some recent work on ultrasonic scattering which tries to understand anomalously high inner core seismic attenuation. Contact: Clara Sousa-Silva
E-mail: [email protected]
-
12/13Friday12:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Hegeman 107
Tuneable Multiphase Dynamics of Biomolecular Condensates
Friday, December 13, 2024 | 12:00 pm EST/GMT-5 | Hegeman 107A talk by Shana Elbaum from The Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY
Biomolecules, including proteins and nucleic acids, can self-assemble into materials with an incredible range of physical properties exquisitely tied to their physiological function, which can be anything from the fluidity of dynamic membraneless organelles to the elasticity of elastin fibers in the heart and lungs. Despite their functional significance, there remain substantial gaps in understanding how individual proteins and nucleic acids self-organize on the molecular scale to produce unique material outputs on the mesoscale. This talk will discuss how we leverage reductionist in-vitro systems and combine rheological and quantitative fluorescence approaches to extract fundamental principles governing protein self-assembly into “condensates” with unique viscoelastic properties, dynamics and hierarchical organization. Contact: Clara Sousa-Silva
E-mail: [email protected]
-
1/22WednesdayBard College Campus