Did a meteorite wipe out the dinosaurs? Will increases in "greenhouse" gases cause global warming? Do continents really drift across the face of Earth? How do scientists come up with these theories anyway? In this course, we will read primary literature about past and present geological controversies to learn how scientists develop, test, and modify scientific hypotheses. We will see how scientific ideas are shaped by academic debates at meetings and in scientific journals and the influence of social and political values of the times.

This course will explore environmental pollution problems covering four major areas: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the biosphere, and energy issues. Several controversial topics, including acid rain, automobile emission, ozone layer depletion, mercury, lead and cadmium poisoning, pesticides, solid waste disposal, and problems of noise and thermal pollution will be addressed. We will emphasize some of the environmental issues affecting our immediate community, as well as those in developing nations.

In this course we will learn the fundamental chemical concepts of composition and stoichiometry, properties of matter, the gas laws, atomic structure, bonding and molecular structure, chemical reactions, and energy changes in chemical reactions. Considerable time will be devoted to learning the use of the periodic table as a way of predicting the chemical properties of elements. We will also emphasize application of those chemical principles to environmental, biological, industrial and day-to-day life situations.

The beginning of a three-semester sequence in Physics, this course will concentrate mainly on mechanics with applications to astronomy. Topics will include, kinematics and dynamics in one and two dimensions, planetary motion, conservation of energy and momentum, rigid bodies and rotation, and relativity. The course is calculus based and makes heavy use of computer modeling to develop realistic examples. It is highly recommended that students take calculus in the same semester that they begin this course. Weekly laboratory/field work is required. The labs are grouped into three major projects.

This course will cover physiology of organ systems within animal phyla with special emphasis on physiological adaptations of organisms to their environment. Topics will include osmoregulation, temperature regulation and neural, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, digestive and endocrine function. One focus will be on cellular and molecular mechanisms common across systems and phyla. We'll also examine unique adaptations to extreme environments. Knowledge of basic biology and chemistry is not required but is recommended.

Are we alone in the universe? The essence of that question has likely been a source of inspiration since the dawn of humanity. The modern science of astrobiology is a transdisciplinary study of extraterrestrial life in the universe drawing from active research in astrophysics, biology, chemistry, and geology. A microbiologist, an astronomer, and a planetary scientist have teamed up to take you through this inter-disciplinary course, where we will look at the history of extraterrestrial debate and analyze the science behind astrobiology.

Calculus provides the language and some powerful tools for the study of change. As such, it is an essential subject for those interested in growth and decay processes, motion, and the determination of functional relationships in general. Using student-selected models from primary literature, we will investigate dynamical systems from economics, ecology, epidemiology and physics. Computers are essential tools in the exploration of such processes and will be integral to the course. No previous programming experience is required.

Music informatics has become an indispensable part of musical studies and now extends to other disciplines in the humanities and sciences. The symbolic representation of music, its retrieval, and its dissemination have radically transformed the musical landscape. The ways in which we gather, listen to, study, and compose music rely heavily on digital and symbolic representations of sound/music.

Rivers and streams wind through the landscape moving water, sediment and other materials and provide habitat for a variety of organisms. In this class we will discuss the main processes that occur in rivers and the means for observing them. We will learn to interpret the morphology (shape) of rivers and fluvial landscapes. We will use both field measurements (i.e. get our feet wet in the stream) and computer models to analyze local river systems from both a hydrological and ecological perspective.

Molecular ecology utilizes the spatial and temporal distribution of molecular genetic markers to ask questions about the ecology, evolution, behavior, and conservation of organisms. This science may utilize neutral DNA markers to understand individuals, populations, and species as a whole.