Current Courses:

This course is an opportunity for students to gain first-hand experience with developing effective approaches to solving complex environmental problems. The class will learn fundamental quantitative concepts and then apply them to issues such as global warming, sudden catastrophes, and the effects of steady flow of wind and water on Earth's surface. In the process, we will explore mathematical patterns that are common to all of the natural sciences. (course website)

Usually taught by Don Barber, but in Spring 2007 will be taught by me. This course is an introduction to the study of Earth processes as interconnected systems. (course website)

Past Courses:

- Fall 2005: Urban Environmental Studies: A Case Study of Morris Woods
- Fall 2004: The Past, Present, and Future of Climate Change (syllabus)

- Physical Processes of Planet Earth (taught at Colby College)

An introductory course providing a broad overview of Earth processes from plate tectonics to the dynamics of Earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere. (syllabus)

- Principles of Geomorphology (taught at Colby College)

An upper-level, quantitative course exploring the forces that shape Earth's surface. (syllabus)

- Geology in the Movies (taught at Colby College)

This is a January-term course using Hollywood movies to explore a broad range of geologic topics. This course tackles the public's common misperceptions, which tend to be reinforced by popular culture, and the important issue of how science is portrayed to the public. (syllabus)

Department of Geology
Bryn Mawr College
101 N. Merion Ave.
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

610-526-7971 • 610-526-5086 (fax)
© 2006 Catherine A. Riihimaki