Students will develop and execute a research project under the 
direction of a faculty member.  The course will consist of 
study of the research literature on the topic of the research, 
followed by original research on this topic.  At the end of the 
course, students will write one or more reports on their 
findings and present their findings to the faculty and their 
peers.  These reports will constitute the basis of jointly 
authored, peer-reviewed journal articles.  Evaluation will be 
based on the student's ability to understand the research 
literature, initiate and carry out the research project, and 
the quality of the final report and presentation.

This course meets the following General Education Abilities, by 
accomplishing the specific learning objectives listed below:

Communicate effectively through writing.  This is met by the 
writing and revising of one or more journal articles describing 
the original research results discovered during the course. 
 
Communicate effectively through speech.  This is met by oral 
presentations, the leading of discussion of the research 
literature, and classroom participation.

Computer Literacy is addressed through analysis of data during 
the course of the research investigation.

Critical Thinking is central to the learning objectives of this 
class, and is developed through the development of one or more 
original research articles.
       
Moral Reasoning (Ethics) is addressed through lectures and 
discussions on the subject of ethics in scientific research.

Students will spend the semester performing research or 
conducting literature searches under the supervision of a 
faculty member on an independent project or as part of an 
ongoing project in the faculty member’s specialty.  The 
specific area of atmospheric science investigated will vary 
according to the students’ interests and the faculty member’s 
research.