COURSES TAUGHT
Description: Basic data analysis and statistical methods necessary to conduct and understand environmental research. Topics and methods covered in this course include experimental design, graphing and data presentation, descriptive statistics, comparison tests, correlation and regression, and other parametric and non-parametric statistical methods. There is a strong emphasis on the application of these methods to datasets that describe current environmental problems and issues.
Credit Hours: 4
Description: Modern methods used in the analysis of environmental samples for monitoring and research purposes. This course focuses on field and laboratory techniques for assessing water quality and emphasizes the application of field sampling and data collection to better understand the natural and built environment. This is an immersive and interactive course, where roughly half of the time is spent in the field and the other half of of the time is spent in the laboratory.
Credit Hours: 4
Description: Origin, transformation, and fate of organic matter on Earth. This course is chemistry-focused and incorporates concepts from biology, geology, and ecology. This course emphasizes reactivity, transport, and storage mechanisms which control the distribution of organic matter in terrestrial and marine systems. Analytical techniques for characterizing organic matter and applications to carbon cycling in natural and perturbed environments are also discussed.
Credit Hours: 4
Description: Climate change is driving an increase in extreme weather events (storms, drought, wildfire). These events manifest as episodic disturbances to affected ecosystems that can alter carbon and nutrient fluxes and reorganize biogeochemical cycles. This course is an in-depth study of current peer-reviewed literature addressing biogeochemical responses to environmental disturbance and extreme events across varied spatial and temporal scales.
Credit Hours: 4
Description: In depth discussion of both ancient and modern carbon cycles. Carbon reservoirs, fluxes, and isotope records are used to explain observed carbon cycling and associated biogeochemical processes and environmental conditions on geologic time scales. This course evaluates geologic carbon cycle perturbations (e.g., extinction events) and explores their implications for modern climate change. Impacts of anthropogenic activities and feedback loops are also discussed.
Credit Hours: 4
Description: Introduction to analysis and interpretation of spatial data and their presentation on maps. In this computationally intensive course, students will obtain practical skills and hands-on experience with open access QGIS software and relevant applications. Concepts covered include map projections, creating shapefiles, geocoding, georeferencing, GPS, demographic data, digital elevation models, etc. Final project involves answering a question using mapping and geospatial analysis.
Credit Hours: 4
