GLY 427/527: Statistics and Modeling of Geologic Data
Textbooks:
-
Essential MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists, by Brian Hahn and Daniel T. Valentine, Sixth Edition (2016). Access ebook via UB Libraries: tinyurl.com/GLY427527Hahn
- Mathematical Modeling of Earth’s Dynamical Systems: A Primer, by Rudy Slingerland and Lee Kump (2011). Access ebook at UB Libraries: tinyurl.com/GLY427527Slingerland
Tools:
- I use Matlab Grader (https://grader.mathworks.com) to administer and score student labs. I am very happy with it. Students like the freedom to “work and check” (although sometimes it is very much too much “guess and check”), and I like the self-grading ability. I also evaluate the quality of their commenting, which is done manually.
- One shortcoming of the Matlab Grader is that its use can get in the way of students learning to debug or troubleshoot their own code. They come away with a “submit to check” skillset rather than a “plot and think” or “print for a sanity check” skillset.
- My solution for this is that I reduce the number of submits allowed (from infinity to 5) in the second half of the course. Simultaneously, I give frequent demos of myself doing “plot and think” or “print and check” in the hopes of modeling these tools and driving it home that “submit and see” isn’t viable in research.
- Mathworks also has a Matlab Onboarding tutorial that I assign as Lab 1. It takes about 2 hours to complete and is a good introduction to coding / interpreted languages. This tutorial is at https://matlabacademy.mathworks.com .
Outcomes:
GLY 447/457: Glaciology
Textbook:
- Benn and Evans, 2011. Glacier and Glaciation. 2nd edition. ISBN: 978-0340905791.
Tools:
- I use the Matlab Grader (https://grader.mathworks.com) to administer and score student labs. So far so good. See above.
- Mathworks also has a Matlab Onboarding tutorial that I assign as Lab 1. It takes about 2 hours to complete and is a good introduction to coding / interpreted languages. This tutorial is at https://matlabacademy.mathworks.com .
GLY 493: Department Colloquium
- Pegrum Seminar Series
- The semester schedule is sometimes available at https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/geology/news-events/events.html .
GLY 312: Hydrology and Surface Processes
This would typically be called Hydrology and Geomorphology, but there is some ancient department history, and course name changes are never worthwhile.
We do 8 weeks of hydrology and 7 weeks of geomorphology.
Textbooks:
Elements of Physical Hydrology, by G. Hornberger, J. Raffensperger, P. Wiberg, & K. Eshleman, second edition (2014). Available on WorldCat and in the UB Bookstore.
Key Concepts in Geomorphology, by P. Bierman & D. Montgomery, first edition (2014). Available on WorldCat and in the UB Bookstore.
Outcomes:
