Message from the Dean
Welcome to the School of Theoretical and Applied Science, which has a rich history of preparing students for professional and academic careers in the sciences and mathematics. Our graduates have made noteworthy achievements that we are proud to share with you.
Dr. Timothy Finley ’94, a biology major, is an anesthesiologist at Holy Name Hospital. Before the 2010 earthquake he traveled regularly to Haiti to volunteer his expertise; since the earthquake that shattered the country, Dr. Finley has redoubled his work in Haiti and has helped bring that country its first oxygen generator. Dr. Carolyn Merkel ’74, a chemistry major, helped develop Splenda. Monique Simpson ’10, a biochemistry major, was selected as an Amos Christie Scholar as a first year medical student at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. The program provides the opportunity for students to gain clinical experience in pediatrics.
Daily, Ramapo College graduates like these are pushing the boundaries, as we know them, of biology, math, chemistry and physics and making the world a better place.
In recent years, we have added biochemistry, bioinformatics, integrated science studies, engineering physics, and nursing, as well as a graduate program in nursing to our academic offerings.
Now is an exciting time to lead the School. New research facilities for faculty and students support the faculty and student collaboration that is synonymous with Ramapo College. Our small classes are hands-on and taught by faculty who know your name. Our faculty have spent decades mentoring our students via the TAS Research Honors curriculum in which students work formally with a faculty research sponsor to conduct work presented at regional, national and international professional meetings and conferences. Their work has been published in respected peer reviewed journals.
- Within the past year Professor of Biology Dr. Paramjeet Bagga and Professor of Mathematics Professor Dr. Lawrence D’Antonio worked with three students and made presentations at six research symposiums on bioinformatics research that deals with gene expression.
- Professor of Computer Science Scott Frees and Professor of Environmental Science Dr. Eric Wiener, along with their students, worked on simulation and visualization of forest dynamics. Their pilot work involves more than 2,000 trees at the Ramapo County Reservation, just across the road from campus, and will assist with forest resource management.
- Recently Dr. Philip Anderson, Professor of Physics, received two patents on surgical implement detector systems.
- And you may have read headlines, which were featured in news outlets around the world about work conducted by Professor of Plant Ecology Dr. Eric Karlin, who using molecular analysis demonstrated that peat moss, Sphagnum subnitens, is perhaps the most genetically uniform widespread group of plants known.
The recent gift of $2 million from philanthropists Myron “Mike” and Elaine Adler, longtime College supporters, will launch a $54 million renovation to the G Wing, which houses the school and will renovate more labs with state-of-the-art equipment for future research and establish the Adler Center for Nursing Excellence, which will house our highly-acclaimed and expanding nursing program.
Welcome to the School of Theoretical and Applied Science and a lifetime of achievement and intellectual exploration.
Edward Saiff, Dean
School of Theoretical and Applied Science
The School of Theoretical and Applied Science has been a distinct and incorporate part of Ramapo College since it admitted its first class in 1971. Since its inception, the School of TAS has been committed to excellence in teaching, research, and public service in the sciences and mathematics, and has sought to prepare its graduates not only for professional and academic careers but to be scientifically literate citizens and lifetime learners in an increasing complex and ever changing technological culture.
The School's curricula are comprehensive, including those designed to promote scientific and mathematical understanding among non-science students at the College. The School of TAS offers twelve undergraduate and a graduate program structured to meet the requirements of national accreditation standards as well as the needs of the contemporary marketplace and community. All students learn the sciences and mathematics in depth from multi-disciplinary perspectives and within the contexts of the liberal arts and global understanding.
The School of TAS places a strong emphasis on teaching, practice, and public service. It encourages faculty/student collaborative research as a continuing course of study. Its faculty and graduates continue to serve as rich resources to governmental agencies, academic institutions, and private research facilities in promoting the public good and fostering educational excellence.
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The School of Theoretical and Applied Science (TAS) offers an integrative approach to the sciences and mathematics. While retaining the rigor and depth of each program without the boundaries of traditional science departments, students and faculty interact freely and creatively across the disciplines. Computer scientists have worked with the molecular biologists to develop the new curriculum in Bioinformatics. Physicists have established courses in climatology for the Environmental Science program. And the mathematicians and chemists have worked together to provide foundational courses in all of the majors. Such integrative collaboration is the norm in the School, not the exception.
The School of TAS offers twelve majors and curricular tracks independently and collaboratively: Allied Health Technologies (jointly with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - UMDNJ), Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Biology, Chemistry, Clinical Laboratory Science (jointly with UMDNJ), Computer Science, Engineering Physics, Environmental Science, Integrative Science Studies, Mathematics, and Nursing. Minors are available in Biology, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering Physics, Environmental Science, Mathematics, and Science, Technology, and Society. The School sponsors one graduate program, a Master of Science in Nursing - Nursing Education (MSN-Nursing Education). The School of TAS also maintain several articulation agreements with area graduate and professional schools. Further descriptions of those agreements appear in the Majors section of this Catalog.
TAS's resources include a diverse array of well-equipped teaching laboratories. Entry-level laboratories in biology, chemistry and physics are computerized, allowing students to gain laboratory based computer skills at the very beginning of their college careers. The School also has several dedicated computer laboratories designed for special study - in Bioinformatics, Cell and Molecular Biology, Nursing, and for study research and projects. A new greenhouse for teaching and research and an innovative classroom associated with it are in active use.
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TAS faculty members excel at teaching and are also internationally recognized for their scholarship and participation in scientific organizations. Many have received awards, fellowships, and grants from private, international, and government agencies including the American Chemical Society, Fulbright Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, National Institute of Health NIH), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science Foundation NSF), New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Department of Education. Faculty engage students in distinctive collaborative research, and have fostered and encouraged the presentations of students' work at regional and national professional meetings and in publications. In addition to special projects, the School of TAS maintains an elective research curriculum for all students, the "TAS-Research Honors Program," which provides a course record for continuing research and which grants certificates upon successful completion.
The School of TAS also requires that all students meet a core curriculum in mathematics and in Science in Cultural Perspective (SCP), consisting of courses which foster an appreciation and understanding of the historical, philosophical, ethical, and social contexts of scientific and technological development.
Ramapo’s cooperative education program provides opportunities for working in a "real life environment". Under the joint supervision of a scientist at the work-place and a TAS faculty member, co-op students earn degree credits while earning money. A strong internship program (where students earn degree credits for work done on a volunteer basis) is also available.
Student organizations such as the Biology, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Math, Nursing, Pre-Med, Physics Clubs and the Students Together for Environmental Progress (1STEP) sponsor lectures, trips, and social activities. Each club elects officers who gain leadership experience in planning programs such as the annual Earth Day celebration. Ramapo’s chapter of Sigma Xi, a national organization for faculty, fosters research and schedules lectures by national and international authorities.
School of Theoretical and Applied Science Contact Information:
Office: G-326
Hours: Fall/Spring Semester, Mon. - Fri., 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Summer, Mon. - Thurs., 8 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Phone: (201) 684-7734
Fax: (201) 684-7637
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