My Environmental Science Courses in the Department of Natural Sciences:

1. Soils & The Environment (EA 103(L) KS)  - Last offered Spring 2024

This is an upper division elective course for Environmnetal science, geology, organismal biology, and biology majors. It fulfills an upper division earth science elective distribution for environmental science majors. Soils is most likely to be offered again in SP 2026, w/out Lab (TBD by October, 2025).

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. Introductory Earth Science (EA55L A/B/C KS)

This course is offered in three versions, of which I teach two. EA 55L A/B/C is a natural science laboratory course that also fulfills a requirement for majors in Environmental Science, Geology, and Environmental Analysis. 

EA 55L A KS - Earth Surface Environments - Last offered Spring 2021 as "EA55L KS Physical Geography & Geomorphology"

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 Earth science course. 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. 

EA55L B Earth History & Evolution - faculty and date TBD

EA 55L C KS - Natural Disasters - offered Fall 2025 (new!)

Overview: Natural Disasters provides students with the foundations of geological knowledge necessary to understand, forecast, and/or mitigate environmental change through the application of the scientific method, exploring the powerful impact of geologic processes on life, the environment, and human civilization over varying timescales. Topics include plate tectonics, geologic time, and rock identification, and the processes and repercussions of earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods, wildfires, climate change and extraterrestrial impacts in the modern day as well as through Earth History. Students will learn to apply factual data and the scientific method to identify, predict, and critically evaluate the effects of specific natural events on modern landscapes, societies, and economies. Three hour Laboratory. No Prerequisites. 

3. Science & the Environment (EA30L KS) 

This course is offered every semester by DNS faculty (currently on rotation by myself, Dr. Vriesman, and/or Dr. Brodman). 

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 is a natural science laboratory course required of all Env Sci and EA majors. Pomona students should take EA30L PO instead, also offered every year. 

First Year Seminar at Pitzer College:

1. Exploring Natural Disasters (FYS 013) Open to Pitzer College first-year students only. - Last offered Fall 2016

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) (aka Principles of Soil Science)