Course Description
Collaborative research on outstanding research problems in the atmospheric sciences.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will assume significant leadership roles in
both the development of and the presentation of the research
project, equivalent to first- or second-author status on
research articles.
Athena Title
COLLAB RSCH ATM SCI
Non-Traditional Format
Directed study.
Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every even-numbered year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
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.
Topical Outline
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.