Environmental Science Systems

The Environmental Science Systems major, administered through the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, emphasizes a multidisciplinary, or systems, approach to global ecosystems and environmental issues.  Students must recognize that Earth’s biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere operate in complexly linked systems in which various components are exchanged over greatly varying time scales. Only through investigation and working toward a fuller awareness of these interactions can scientists hope to achieve an understanding of the causes and dimensions of global change, both natural and anthropogenic.

The major in Environmental Science Systems can be completed without a concentration, or with a pre-engineering concentration in environmental engineering. This concentration is designed to prepare students for graduate study in environmental engineering at the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University. Direct admission to the graduate program at the the College of Engineering and Computer Science is possible if GPA requirements are met.

Students have the opportunity to gain field research experience in their very first year through the introductory courses that travel to Arizona or Costa Rica. Additional field and/or laboratory experiences are acquired through conducting independent research projects on such topics as soil composition and structure, carbon cycling, ecological effects of climate change, or forest succession. The laboratory facilities at Le Moyne feature modern instruments, including advanced optical and electron microscopes, an X-ray diffractometer and a carbon/nitrogen analyzer for soils and rocks. These facilities are open to student use, both in laboratory courses and independent research projects. Faculty members in natural systems, biology and chemistry serve as mentors for majors conducting their research projects. In addition, students are encouraged to seek internships with local environmental and biotech companies.

Environmental Science Systems Courses and Requirements

If you would like to learn more about courses, requirements, and opportunities for the Environmental Science Systems major or minor, please see the Le Moyne College catalog.

Mission Statement

For students majoring in environmental fields, we provide the core sciences that demonstrate the essential linkages between the Earth’s systems that control the environment. Students majoring in environmental science systems (ESS) receive a rigorous scientific training that prepares them for work in industry or graduate study. Those majoring in environmental studies (ENS) undertake extensive studies in government, policy and economics in preparation for study or employment in these fields.

For students who major in something other than the natural sciences, we provide a discussion of how science works while attempting to capture the excitement that comes from answering a question that was previously unanswered. Specifically, we seek to use environmental science as an example of how science may provide some of the understanding necessary to deal with the present and future social and cultural problems facing human societies.

Student Learning Goals

Students who graduate with a degree in environmental science systems will:

• Learn the fundamental connections between all of the Earth’s systems.
• Develop an understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of life on Earth.
• Develop the ability to investigate environmental problems.
• Come to understand the relationship between the natural environment and human society.

The Environmental Science Systems program is administered through the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, but it is interdisciplinary and courses are taught by faculty in many departments.

Presentations by invited guests and Le Moyne faculty and students

Join us to learn about the active science research programs at Le Moyne and beyond. Speakers include Le Moyne faculty members and students, as well as researchers and scientists from other colleges and universities and the private sector.

Sponsored by the natural science departments. For more information, contact Dr. Emily Ledgerwood.
Seminars are held on Friday afternoons in the Science Center Addition, Room 100, 3:30-4:30pm

Effects of Helicobacter pylori Infection on the Risk of Childhood Anemia: An Epidemiological Research Using Ethiopian Birth Cohort
Bineyam Taye, M.P.H., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Colgate University

Costa Rica – Oasis of Peace: Its History and Sustainable Development
Ronald Calvo, Naturalist and Adventure Tour Guide

Patterns of Mutation in Cancer
Michael Lawrence, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School

Science Policy: Where the Bench Meets Capitol Hill
Sesquile Ramon, Ph.D., Director, Science and Regulatory Affairs, Biotechnology Innovation Organization

Physiological Responses to Light Isoflurane Anesthesia
Ashley Loeven ’18 (pattern of breathing), Le Moyne College
Haley Buchholz ’19 (blood pressure), Le Moyne College
Rebecca Purdy ’20 (body temperature), Le Moyne College

Synthesis and Characterization of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metal-NNN Pincer Complexes
Devon Haugh ’18, Le Moyne College

Syracuse University REU: Studies Toward the Lewis Acid-Mediated Synthesis of α-Methylene-γ-butyrolactones
Shania Hayward ’18, Le Moyne College

Internships and Research Experiences for Undergraduates
Faculty Members, Natural Science Departments

Linking Cellular Stress to Reovirus Oncolysis
Megan Worth ’18, Le Moyne College

Understanding Instrumentation for Standardizing Lab Procedures: A Study of Vapor Sorption Isotherms
Rosario Guifre ’18, Le Moyne College

Synthesis of α α-helical Inhibitors of Protein-Protein Interactions
Francine Yanchik ’18, Le Moyne College

Study Abroad in Costa Rica: Research, Culture, and Networking
Steven Ferguson ’17, Le Moyne College

Le Moyne is proud to host a chapter of Friends of Recreation, Conservation and Environmental Stewardship (FORCES). This organization participates in conservation work, including invasive species control, in local state parks as well as environmental educational outreach programs at local schools. Membership is open to all members of the Le Moyne College community.

Pi Epsilon promotes the study of environmental sciences through recognition of exemplary scholarly and professional activity at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Environmental science is understood to be the study of our environment and all stressors acting on it: chemical, physical, and biological. The Society seeks to promote interdisciplinary studies and foster interactions between industry and academia to further the study of environmental science. Le Moyne hosts a local chapter of Pi Epsilon; the national headquarters is at Wright State University.

The Biology Club is an organization whose purposes are to promote student interest and participation in the life sciences and to provide a social venue through which students may explore shared interests and make new acquaintances. The Biology Club sponsors a variety of events and activities throughout the year and helps freshman biology students adjust to college life.

The purpose of the Coalition is to foster an appreciation of the outdoors and an awareness of environmental problems through a variety of outdoor activities and environmentally concerned events. Participation in outdoor events is stressed. Membership is open to all members of the Le Moyne College community.

Through outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, caving and canoeing, the Le Moyne College Outing Club promotes community building, personal development, and appreciation for the outdoors.

The Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society is a society for students, particularly undergraduates. It seeks to encourage scholarly attainment in this field of learning by reserving its active membership for those who achieve superior academic records and who indicate special aptitude for and major interest in the life sciences. It desires to cultivate intellectual interest in the natural sciences and to promote a better appreciation of the value of biological study. It thus welcomes into associate membership other students who are interested in biology. Beta Beta Beta also endeavors to extend the boundaries of human knowledge of nature by encouraging new discoveries through scientific investigation and to this end encourages undergraduate students to begin research work and report their findings in the society’s journal, BIOS. It emphasizes, therefore, a three-fold program: stimulation of scholarship, dissemination of scientific knowledge and promotion of biological research.