Fall '25: ENVS 1402; Foundations in Geosciences
Spring '26: ENVS 1401; ENVS 1402; Oceanography and Climate Change
Maymester '26: Water, Waste, and Tourism in Quintana Roo, Mexico (study abroad)
Summer '26: ENVS 1401; ENVS 1402
In this first course in a two course-sequence in Environmental Science, students learn about the major environmental challenges today, environmental ethics, economics and policy, ecology and conservation, biogeochemical cycles, human population and urbanization, and the water, soil, and agricultural resources we depend on. Accompanying lab: ENVS 1401L
In this second course of the two course-sequence in Environmental Science, students investigate energy technology (fossil fuel, nuclear, renewable), atmospheric and climate change science, environmental health and justice, and how to be a part of sustainable solutions from local to global scales. New course updates include a group research project where students explore the urban heat island effect in downtown Atlanta using the scientific method and then analyze/ present their findings. Accompanying lab: ENVS 1402L
In this Study Abroad course, our class travels to the Cancún, Mexico area to explore issues at the intersection of karst geology, tourism, and water management. We meet engineers at drinking water and wastewater plants in rapidly developing parts of Cancún, hike through an underground river cave system, snorkle in cenotes, windows into the karst aquifer, and learn about local water and tourism issues from community members, scientific divers, and ecologists. Course updates include enhanced qualitative and quantitative research carried out by students to investigate the course themes in consultation with local partners. Offered in Spring 2023, Maymester 2026. Co-led with Dr. Kelly Alley.
Using “flipped” course design, class time is spent exploring classic, impactful, and paradigm-shifting research related to the role of the oceans in past, present, and future climate change and how our oceans and climate system function. Students work with real-world geoscience data and experience the process of scientific inquiry and discovery. Cross-listed at the graduate level.
Offered in Spring 2024, Spring 2026