MAJ Song General Biology Guest Lecture

MAJ Steve Song, an instructor from the Department of Systems Engineering served as a guest lecturer in General Biology. The lecture, “Thinking about Systems” served as an introductory lesson to systems theory, covering the characteristics of a system, systems thinking, and systems dynamics. The lecture was positioned as the first lecture in the human physiology block. During this block cadets will explore various organ systems in the human body and seek to understand how those systems function and interact to maintain homeostasis. MAJ Song used various examples of common systems to challenge cadets in their approach to problem solving, while also relating systems thinking to previous lessons such as cellular systems, ecosystems, and population dynamics. The feedback from the cadets was extremely positive, as they enjoyed an instructor from a seemingly “unrelated” department “tying together” so many of the concepts they have been discussing throughout the course.