From Wall Street to rural Sub-Saharan Africa, technology innovation to aging infrastructure-this course will explore the; impact of water and consider what future leaders need to know about the dynamics of the industry, investment and business opportunities, and water-related risk; Opportunities for water are booming around the world, in large part because of existing or looming shortages and decades of underinvestment, population growth, rapid industrialization and urbanization, pollution, and climate change. Water is the only irreplaceable natural resource on the planet. Its critical role in every aspect of the global economy, could, in fact, lead it to be the next gold or the next oil; This course will address the fundamentals of the water sector from an international perspective. The future of water will be critical to our global economic, social and political development and will likely become one of the most influential factors in business decisions for the future. Furthermore, it is essential for leaders across all sectors-from pharmaceuticals to financials, energy to agriculture-to understand how to sustainably manage and account for water resources, capitalize on new technologies, mitigate water-related risks and navigate through complex and dynamic policy and regulation.


The course will engage students in high-level discussion and strategy formation, challenging them to develop creative and sustainable solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing environmental, business and water industry leaders today. Interactive sessions and projects will provide an introduction to appropriately managing, valuing and investing in water assets to create sustainable and compelling business opportunities.

Food is central to our daily lives, yet we seldom think about the political or social implications of what we eat. In this course, students will study how societies produce, distribute, market and consume food, with an emphasis on American politics and food systems to develop an understanding of how policies policies are shaped by power relations, institutions, and ideas. Topics include food systems, food and agriculture industries, farming practices, sustainable agriculture, food security, genetically modified foods, hunger, obesity, nutrition policy, food labeling and marketing, fast food, junk food, and more.

This course offers a broad and practical introduction to the acquisition, storage, retrieval, maintenance, use, and presentation of digital cartographic data with both image and drawing based geographic information systems (GIS) for a variety of environmental science, planning, and management applications. Its major objectives are to provide the training necessary to make productive use of at least two well known software packages, and to establish the conceptual foundation on which to build further skills and knowledge in late practice.

This course will use the weekly EES seminar series to survey historic breakthrogh papers or topics in the earth sciences, as well as modern papers - written by the seminar speakers - that often put the classics in perspective. Graduate students (Ph.D. only) in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science will engage in the material through reading, presentation, and discussion. The course has several goals. (1.) To engender an understanding and appreciation of major breakthroughs in our field. (2.) To develop skills in presenting and discussing scientific results. And (3.) to refine students' understanding of what constitutes great science.

This course focuses on the rock mechanics aspects of Engineering Geology. The theme is characterization of the geologic environment for engineering and environmental investigations. Covered are the various exploration tools and methods, including: Collection and analysis of existing engineering data; Interpretation of remotely sensed imagery; Field and laboratory measurements of material properties; Measurement and characterization of rock discontinuities; Rock slope stability analysis; Stress, strain and failure of rocks and the importance of scale; Rock core logging; Rock mass rating; Rock support and reinforcement; Rock excavation, blasting and blast monitoring and control.

Mechanical properties of solid and fluid earth materials, stress and strain, earth pressures in soil and rock, tunnels, piles, and piers; flow through gates, wiers, spillways and culverts, hydraulics, seepage and Darcy's law as applied to the hydrologic sciences.

Introcudction to the basic principles of the hydrologic cycle and water budgets, precipitation and infiltration, evaporation and transpiration, stream flow, hydrograph analysis (floods), subsurface and groundwater flow, well hydraulics, water quality, and frequency analysis.

Review and applications of selected methods from differential equations, advanced engineering mathematics and geostatistics to problems encountered in geology, engineering geology, geophysics and hydrology.

Evaluation of environmental contamination and liability is an important tool during acquisition of real estate property, and a standard work product in the environmental consulting field. This course will cover the purpose and history of the Superfund law, the various classifications of Superfund liable parties, and protections against Superfund liability, specifically with regard to bona fide prospective purchasers (BFPP). In the context of the BFPP liability defense the course will focus on the performance of "All Appropriate Inquiry" for the presence of environmental contamination (e.g. Phase I environmental site assessment). Our study of "All Appropriate Inquiry" will include evaluation of historical maps and other resources, aerial photography, chain-of-title documentation, and governmental database information pertaining to known contaminated sites in the area of select properties on or near campus. Site visits will be performed to gain experience and knowledge for the identification of recognized environmental conditions. Students will prepare environmental reports for select properties and will have an opportunity to hone technical writing skills.

The application of geophysical investigation techniques to problems of the local and shallow subsurface structure of the earth. The application of geophysical measurements and interpretation for environmental site characterizations, locating buried structures, groundwater investigations, and identifying geotechnical hazards with emphasis on gravity methods, seismic refraction and reflection, electrical resistivity, electromagnetic methods, ground penetrating radar, and borehole nuclear logging. Prerequisite: MSAG Required Course