My Environmental Analysis Courses, W.M. Keck Science Department:

1. Soils & Society (EA 103(L) KS)  

(next offered SP 2024 w/out Lab)

Overview: Soils are brilliantly puzzling palimpsests - the medium of interaction between atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Soils have also profoundly influenced human health and society. This hands-on science course provides an introduction to the nature and formation of soils and an analysis of the ways in which they define habitats, cycle water, cycle carbon, support infrastructure, sustain agriculture, record paleoclimate, and exemplify the challenges of sustainable or resilient environmental management. This course is especially appropriate for students of environmental analysis, biology, chemistry, and geology. Two mandatory Friday or Saturday field trips. Optional laboratory TBD. This is an upper division EA science (and Earth Science) elective.

Prerequisites: EITHER (1) CHEM14L & 15L** and BIOL 43L & 44L; OR (2) One laboratory course in environmental science or geology (e.g., EA30L, EA55L, GEOL 020L) and one additional EA course; OR (3) Instructor approval for students with a strong environmental, geoscience, or ecology background. **Introductory chemistry is most strongly recommended as a prerequisite by former students of this course as well as by me.

2. Physical Geography & Geomorphology (EA 55L KS) (with laboratory) 

Next offered AY 2024-2025 TBA.

Overview: Every landscape on Earth has been sculpted by the interplay between climate, tectonics, and biological activity – a tentative equilibrium occasionally punctuated by floods, fires, landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and other events. This rich, dynamic history is written in the landforms, soils, and sediments around us and can help explain modern environments. Learning how to decipher that history is the focus of this introductory science course in Environmental Analysis. Topics include mountain building (& volcanism), chemical and physical weathering (& landslides), river systems (& floods), glaciers, deserts, coastlines, and cave and groundwater systems. Labs are scheduled to permit field trips and detailed work with maps and satellite imagery. Three hour Laboratory. Participation in an overnight, weekend trip (typically in March) is mandatory. No Prerequisites. This is a natural science laboratory course that also fulfills an Earth Science requirement for many EA tracks. Students interested in this course but who can't make it fit in their schedules might also consider GEOL 020x at Pomona.

3. Science & the Environment (EA 30L KS) (with laboratory*) 

(offered every semester by KSD faculty! )

Overview: “Science and the Environment” is an introduction to the principles of environmental science with applications in chemistry, ecology, physics, and geology. Fundamentally, this class is about the dynamic world around you: how the ‘living’ planet works, how our activities affect natural systems and human society, and how the careful practice of science can help solve or help mitigate environmental problems. We’ll cover an array of topics to illustrate the fascinating and vital linkages between ecosystems, climate change, energy and food production, land resources, pollution, and sustainable development. A laboratory accompanies the course and includes an introduction to Geographical Information System (GIS), as well as a healthy dose of field work and chemical analysis. *Three hour Lab every OTHER week. No Prerequisites. This course is offered every semester by KSD EA faculty. This is a natural science laboratory course required of all CMC, SC, and PZ EA major tracks except the science track. PO EA students are encouraged to take EA30L PO instead, which is also offered every year. 

First Year Seminar at Pitzer College:

1. Exploring Natural Disasters (FYS 013) Open to Pitzer College first-year students only.

Overview: “Civilization exists by geologic consent, subject to change without notice.” This quote by Will Durant hints at the captivating, profound, and (too often) tragic ways in which natural processes sculpt our planet and influence extinction, survival, and evolution. This seminar will survey the causes and occurrences of natural disasters including volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, floods, droughts, bolide impacts, and more. We will simultaneously explore the science of hazard assessment, the wide-ranging temporal and spatial scales of disaster, the coverage of natural events and hazards in news and popular entertainment media, and the ramifications of disasters and hazard awareness for individuals, cultures, and nations. Emphasizing critical evaluation over sensationalism, this writing-intensive course is intended to foster new perspectives on the dynamic Earth and the resilience of society.

Geology courses taught at Macalester College, 2010-2012:

GEOL 103 – Geocinema!

GEOL 150 – Dynamic Earth & Global Change (with laboratory) (aka Physical Geology)

GEOL 165 – History and Evolution of the Earth (with laboratory) (aka Historical Geology)

GEOL 194 – Geological Hazards

GEOL 201 – Geological Excursions, Mojave Desert (2 wk, January Field Course; co-taught)

GEOL 260 – Geomorphology (with laboratory)

GEOL 265 – Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (with laboratory)

GEOL 294 – Soils and Landscapes (with laboratory)