Science Honors: Program Overview

The Houghton College Science Honors Program offers an innovative problem-driven curriculum that takes an interdisciplinary approach to solving important real-world problems – something that in today's world requires both technical scientific know-how and a deep understanding of context. The flagship of the program, the Science Honors course, immerses students in the study of a difficult scientific and societal problem, one that requires all of their passion, skills and knowledge to solve. This course, which is team taught by a biologist, a chemist, a physicist, a writing professor and a communications professor, is driven and unified by the study of a significant real-world problem.

The focus of the Houghton College Science Honors Program for 2009-2010 is alternative energy sources for transportation. What will we do when the oil runs out?

Most geologists and industry analysts predict world oil production will peak sometime before 2010; many believe it has already happened. Currently, about two-thirds of all oil produced is used for transportation – a number that some expect to grow by 33% by 2030. Clearly, big changes are ahead. What type of vehicles will we be driving in ten or twenty years? Will they be solar cars, or will we have hydrogen fuel cells? How about hybrid vehicles that run on ethanol?

In the program, students will design and construct a working prototype vehicle that runs on an alternative fuel source, experiment with techniques for producing the required fuel, and analyze the environmental and economic concerns related to their design. Along the way they will learn, in workshop-type class sessions, about topics ranging from bioengineering to chemical electronegativity to thermodynamic efficiency. These workshops will include lectures, laboratory exercises, special speakers, and field trips. The flexible schedule and a special dedicated laboratory space allow students' research to turn in unexpected and fruitful new directions.

In addition to the core Science Honors course, students explore the larger issues surrounding the problem in an accelerated calculus course, a history course emphasizing the relationship between science and western culture, and a philosophy course examining our attempts to understand the natural world.