University of Notre Dame - Dome Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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SCIENCE PHYSICS AND MATH Physics and Mathematics are science at its most abstract. The mathematician studies the rules that govern nature, with little regard for any practical application. The tools he develops and employs are useful in ordering nature so as to understand it, but this step does not concern the purist. He is satisfied with pursuing the truth among his rules and symbols. The physicist is more concerned with practical appli- cation. Some of the greatest advances in theoretical physics have been the discovery that mathematical con- cepts do indeed describe the world we see. From New- ton to Einstein the two have been almost inseparable. Physics also is fundamental to engineering, and so the department instructs students of many majors. 28

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Br. Raphael at Lo- bund Research Center. Both Biology and Geology have historic roots at Notre Dame. The Geology building houses one of the most extensive collections of rocks and geological forma- tions in the Midwest. The specimens are collected on field trips, and their peculiarities explained by chem- ical and physical theory. The result is a comprehen- sive understanding of the oldest history we know: that of th e formation of the planet we inhabit. Biology is, of course, the domain primarily of the pre-med student. But it also includes one of the most interesting of the university ' s graduate facilities Lobund, and its study of germ free environments. The department runs the gamut of specialties in the gen- eral study of that puzzle, life. Botany, with its plant collection founded by Father Nieuwland, anatomy, embryology, and micro-biology with their exotic sol- vents and preservatives, all contribute to the atmos- phere so familiar to students. Students in both sciences, whether majoring, or merely tolerating their science elective, undertake an increasing academic burden. 30