Eleven students from various academic and cultural backgrounds have gathered at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a common goal: to spend the summer immersed in biophysics. As the fourth class of students to attend the NIGMS-funded Biophysical Society Summer Course: Case Studies in the Physics of Life, these students will spend the next 11 weeks in lectures, seminars, and most importantly, in the lab with hand-picked mentors, elbow-deep in biophysics-related research projects of their choice. Course Director Barry Lentz and Assistant Director Mike Jarstfer have lined up visiting speakers to supplement the core UNC faculty lectures and give students the opportunity to investigate biophysics programs at other institutions. The full Course schedule also includes professional development classes on topics such as writing a personal statement, presenting an abstract, and research collaboration ethics. Field trips to the beach, a minor league baseball game, and Duke University are on the summer’s agenda, too. Meet this year’s Summer Course students: Joshua Cochran Missoula, Montana Biochemistry Major, Physics Minor Gladys Díaz Vázquez San Juan, Puerto Rico Biology Major, Physics Minor Alba Katiria González Rivera Arecibo, Puerto Rico Microbiology Technology Major Jazmyne Hefflefinger Dover, Delaware Movement Science: Pre-Health Professional Major Vontriska Jones Winson-Salem, North Carolina Biology Major, Chemistry Minor Jasmine Martich Bridgeport, Connecticut Mathematics Major, Biology & Chemistry Minor Chukwunweike George Nwangwu Towson, Maryland Chemistry Major

 Not pictured: Alexius Otto New York, New York Mathematics Major, German Minor Mahmoud Shobair Gainesville, Florida Physics Major Ilyssa Summer Tempe, Arizona Mathematics Major (PhD candidate) Rauta Aver Yakubu Columbia, Missouri Biochemistry Major, Sociology Minor And now, meet the three TA's helping out with the Course: Tim Jacobs First-Year Grad Student Bioinformatics and Computational Biology/Biophysics Gregg Rice First-Year Grad Student Biophysics Matt Smola First-Year Grad Student Biophysics Stay tuned for Course updates throughout the summer! For more information about the BPS Summer Course, visit the Summer Course website or contact the Course Administrator, Erica Retrosi ([email protected]).