CEMB is excited to announce that our core course “Integrative Plant and Animal Mechanobiology” has been approved for the fall semester. It will be offered at UPenn and WUSTL on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30-12:00 Eastern Time, with lectures given at multiple sites and broadcast to all. At Penn, the course number is CAMB 711 (we’re working on co-listing in BE). A course description is given below. We encourage all CEMB students to take this course, as it will address the fundamental questions being tackled by the center.

This novel course aims to provide students with an understanding of biomechanics that spans the plant and animal kingdoms, with the goal of emphasizing principles common to both. Principles from plant biology will be used to enhance and inform understanding of animal biology, and vice versa. Modules include 1) Plant and Animal Cell Biology; 2) Solid, Fluid, and Transport Mechanics; and 3) Integrating Biology and Mechanics – Big Questions. The course is designed to be appropriate for both biology and engineering students, and will be of interest to researchers studying both the plant and the animal kingdoms. It will, in addition to the lectures, include journal article discussion sections and problem sets.