Faculty Profile

Chuck Zwemer

(he/him/his)Professor of Biology (1995)

Contact Information

on sabbatical Fall 2024

zwemer@dickinson.edu

James Hall - Rector Complex Room 1217
717-245-1293

Bio

He teaches courses in physiology, microanatomy, and vertebrate biology. His research addresses issues of cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal function in normal and diseased states.

Education

  • B.A., Hope College, 1987
  • Ph.D., Indiana University Medical Sciences Program, 1993
  • Post-Doctoral Fellowship, University of Michigan Medical School, 1995

Awards

  • Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 1999-2000

2024-2025 Academic Year

Spring 2025

BIOL 131 Intro to Org, Pop & Ecosyst
This introductory course spans levels of biological organization from basic multicellular microanatomy to organismal physiology and ecology, as understood through the lens of evolution. Course content will be focused around a specific theme determined by the instructor, and will include evolutionary principles of variation, selection, competition and cooperation, and how their operation at different levels of organization accounts for form and function of organisms, communities, and ecosystems. We will investigate homeostasis, reproduction and development as physiological processes that take place within organisms, and as ecological processes that interact with the environment and generate diversity of form over evolutionary time. Finally we will take stock of the existing forms and levels of biological organization and ask how their relationships establish the biosphere in which we live. Three hours classroom and three hours laboratory a week. This is one of two courses required of all Biology majors before entering the upper level. It is complementary to BIOL 132 – Introduction to Molecules, Genes, and Cells, and the courses may be taken in either order.

BIOL 333 Physiology w/Lab
A study of physiological mechanisms in the animal kingdom, stressing the structural and functional bases of biological activities. Emphasis is on vertebrate organs and organ systems. Laboratory includes experimental physiological studies of selected organisms. Six hours classroom a week. Prerequisites: One 200-level BIOL course. For Neuroscience majors, prerequisite is NRSC 200.