Description:

Role: Teaching Fellow (TF)

This course provides an overview of Earth’s energy and material resources, with emphasis on the factors that control their global distributions and uses in our society. Lectures and labs emphasize methods used to identify and exploit resources, as well as the environmental impact of these operations. 

Topics: 

• coal and acid rain, 

• oil & natural gas, 

• photochemical smog, 

• oil spills, 

• unconventional fossil resources (shale gas, tar sands), 

• greenhouse gas emissions and climate, 

• nuclear power and radioactive hazards,

• solar power, 

• hydroelectric power, 

• tidal power, 

• geothermal power,

• energy storage (methane, hydrogen), 

• metals and mining. 

Labs emphasize datasets and tools (drilling methods, satellite remote sensing data, interpretation of seismic reflection surveys, and constructing 3D cross-sections) for discovering and developing resources, and assessing and mitigating environmental impacts. There is a 2-day field trip that covers a majority of the energy resources discussed in the course.

Responsibilities: 

As a TF, resonsibilities for this course included: preparing the materials in advance, teaching lab sections, holding office hours and exam review sessions, grading lab reports and exams, organizing and leading the field trip. 

Student Evaluations: 

Based on the course evaluations, the anonymous student feedback was unanimously positive: 

• “I am so amazed at how good of a TF Kristen was. She always went above and beyond. I seriously don't know how she had the time or energy to be as good of a TF as she was, but I'm so thankful for it.”

• “Kristen is amazing! She is so helpful and caring and wants you to succeed. She is super knowledgeable and in love with her studies and makes you excited to learn about rocks.”

• “Kristen is great! She was so helpful in lab and gave great explanations and presentations.”