What do fungi do and why are they diverse? Why are lichens important? Is slime mold smarter than you think? If you're interested in these questions and more, this class is for you! We will cover different groups of fungi and their origins, culminating in a fungus hunt!

"Pandemic". You’ve probably heard this word thrown around daily ever since the emergence of COVID-19. But what exactly is a pandemic? How does something as small as a virus make such huge impacts? Why has the world reacted to COVID-19 in certain ways, and what can we learn before the next pandemic arrives? This course aims to give you insight into all of these questions and hopefully more. We’ll first dive into pathogen biology: their structure and origins, how they infect and sicken humans, and how they spread between individuals. We’ll also give an overview of disease diagnostics, the importance of “physical distancing” and other low-impact public health interventions, the rationale behind stay-at-home orders and large-scale disruptions, and more.

Thermodynamics: the most dreaded class that you have to take before obtaining that coveted engineering degree. OR! Thermodynamics, one of the coolest subjects that explains just about everything (kind of), from how molecules interact with one another to how we can stop climate change. This is a moderately spicy yet exciting class that will discuss the fundamental understanding of energy that AP Chemistry sadly does not teach you. We will build from a molecular description of gases to statistical mechanics (not as scary as it sounds!), derive the Ideal Gas Law, see that the Ideal Gas Law sadly does not always work and learn about non-ideality, and then apply those concepts to chemical and biological engineering. Learn about the First, Second, and Third Laws of Thermodynamics, mass and energy balances, power cycles, entropy, equations of state, vapor-liquid equilibrium and more!

Want to learn what a protein actually is?? How exactly do we get energy from food? How do drugs work? This course will give you the basic tools to understand the science behind life. You will learn about protein structure and function, catalysis and enzyme kinetics, and principles of metabolism.