This is a new course available for the first time this year. There is no pre-requisite and it is open to any student who has an interest in undertaking a theoretical project. There is no final examination. The assessment is based on a written dissertation of  around 6,000 words and a 20 minute oral presentation. This course would not therefore be appropriate to any student who has difficulty in expressing themselves in written or spoken English! The course can be taken in either the first or second semester with deadlines for submission of the dissertation in January and June.
    In doing the dissertation you would be expected to achieve a thorough understanding of the theoretical background and current research work in a specific area. This would involve extensive reading of original articles and references. In the dissertation you would then need to explain the theoretical basis of the area, the status of the current research, outstanding problems and potential approaches for their resolution. You would need to show a critical awareness of the relative importance of different aspects of the subject.
    If you are interested in taking this course you will need to discuss an appropriate dissertation topic with a potential supervisor in the Dept. of Botany before making your course selection. Details of the research interests of staff members can be found on the Botany web-page and on the list of topics for the Botany Project.
    To give you some idea of the sort of topic you could consider I append below a list of  subjects which I would consider suitable for a dissertation under my supervision. If you would like more details please contact me. Students are of course very welcome to suggest their own topics in which they have a particular interest.

Food Related
 Control of food stability at low-temperatures
 World food supply and the impact of GM foods
 Importance of food hydrocolloids in the food manufacture

Plant Science
 Ecophysiology of plant survival at high altitudes
 Breeding strategies in the tropical forest
 Plant aging, why do trees die?
 Plant defense mechanisms against pathogens
 Phytoalexins, do they work?
 Plant signalling, how do plant cells communicate?
 Cell wall expansion, flexibility in a rigid structure.
 High light stress in plants
 Ant-plant symbiosis
 Nitrogen fixation in plants

Aquaculture
 Seaweed industry and mariculture

Structural Biology
 Polysaccharide structural resolution
 Modelling polysaccharides

If you are interested in any of the above topics you are welcome to contact me for informal queries by Email.

Dr. L. Ramsden, Botany.