Natural Sciences

Why Science at LTU

Unlike large research universities, Lawrence Technological University is first and foremost an institution dedicated to teaching. The education and mentoring of students is the principal function of all Lawrence Tech faculty. The faculty of the Department of Natural Sciences is fully committed to this purpose.

As an undergraduate student in Natural Sciences at Lawrence Tech, you will:

• Receive individual attention from all the faculty in your discipline.
• Each will know you by face and by name, long before you graduate.
• You will never be taught by a graduate student teaching assistant—even in your earliest laboratory courses.
• A member of the teaching faculty will always be the principal supervisor in the laboratory, sometimes assisted by advanced Lawrence Tech undergraduates.
• Adjunct faculty will teach in the advanced courses only when they bring a special expertise to the program.
• You will always be advised by the chair of the department or by a director or coordinator of your program.

You will always be advised by the chair of the department or by a director or coordinator of your program.

The university is committed to providing the department and its students with the advanced instrumentation that they are likely to use in their future careers. All the instrumentation is available for undergraduate use and is often introduced at Lawrence Tech far earlier than at other institutions.

Multiple tracks of study are available in both chemistry and physics to enable students to tailor their programs to specific career goals such as biophysics or material sciences. Details of these programs can be found under the descriptions of the individual programs.

Natural Sciences students are encouraged to pursue co-op and internship opportunities in industry while earning college credit. In several programs an independent senior project is required for graduation. These projects can be carried out by a student individually or as a member of an interdisciplinary team, both of which are expected of technical workers in an industrial setting.

Facilities

The Department of Natural Sciences is housed on the second and third floors of the Science Building at Lawrence Tech. This is a modern facility designed with the needs of the sciences at the forefront. Physics laboratories are on the second floor and chemistry laboratories are on the third floor. Faculty members usually have offices near their teaching labs. Some joint instrumental laboratory space is on the third floor.

Instrumentation

The department is fully equipped with all the instrumentation needed for thorough training in all our major programs. A partial list of major equipment includes:

• X-ray diffraction apparatus
• Scanning electron microscope
• A variety of lasers, diffractometers and detection devices
• Digitizing, computer-compatible oscilloscopes
• Several visible-ultraviolet spectrometers
• Several infrared spectrometers, including Fourier transform devices Multiple gas chromatographs, some with automatic sampling and mass spectrometer detection
• High Pressure Liquid Chromatography facilities
• Fourier Transform Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer

The department policy is to introduce advanced instrumentation at the earliest opportunity in a student’s education.

Objectives

Lawrence Tech’s undergraduate Natural Sciences programs are intended to produce scientists who:

• Have sound command of the fundamental concepts in their field.
• Have the experience and training to apply those concepts in industry.
• Have the ability to teach themselves new skills as needed.
• Possess the problem-solving and critical judgment skills required of competent citizens in an increasingly technological society.
• Are able to undertake productive assignments in industry.
• Are prepared to undertake graduate study in their field or in related disciplines.
• Are well prepared for admission and success in medicine, dentistry or related fields.
• Are fully prepared for graduate work in business or law.
• Understand and adhere to the ethical standards of their discipline and of society as a whole.