Jim Landry, 12/22/06
Title:
The Evolution of a Natural Science Department
Header:When Professor Jim Landry took over the natural science program in 1995, it consisted of only him, four students and a classroom.
Feature:When Professor Jim Landry took over the natural science program in 1995, it consisted of only him, four students and a classroom.
Today it’s an official department that has grown to 170 students and six faculty members, and offers two majors with three distinct emphases.
“My focus was to customize the department to offer students the kind of education they need to apply to graduate programs or find the jobs they want,” says Landry, now chair of the Natural Sciences Department.
Future plans for the department include continuing to offer a challenging and rigorous curriculum, addressing health care trends and restructuring the master’s degree in environmental science.
Landry has been a professor at LMU since 1984. He received his bachelor’s of science in chemical science and his master’s of science in analytical chemistry from Xavier University. He received his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
His area of research is currently focused on the Ballona Wetlands. The wetlands fill with runoff water from the city after it rains. Landry, along with students, measures the metal pollutant concentration collected in that water. The water is then analyzed for pollutants and metals precipitate to the bottom; ultimately, the fresh water moves out to the ocean and the Santa Monica bay.
“By measuring the leftover pollutants and metals, we can get a sense of how this may or may not be providing hazards for the marine life in the wetlands and what is being flushed back into the ocean,” Landry says.
Landry, along with fellow professor Carolyn Viviano and undergraduate students, is also developing the environmental education curriculum for the Ballona Discovery Center, which will focus on local environmental problems in the area.
“Undergraduate student research is important more so now than ever,” Landry says. “Professors need to allow students to ‘do’ science rather than present it as a collection of facts.”
With this philosophy in mind, the department is offering an integrated first-year program for all natural science students. The project-based course will integrate general biology, general chemistry, pre-calculus and college writing subjects as one.
“Landry sees outside the box; this is not your typical science department because it includes three different disciplines,” says David Ramirez, assistant professor. “Landry is committed to seeing his students and faculty members succeed.”