Tag: Undergraduate courses
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Courses
BIOL 4947: Pop-Up Astrobiology Lab I
Welcome to Pop-Up Labs! In the first semester of this course, we will to tackle real-world astrobiology research questions. Regardless of where samples derive from, we’ll enter the world of extremophile microbiology and discover something new. In the fall semester, we will design our project in collaboration with this year’s astrobiology partners, collect and inventory […]
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Courses
ERTH 4010: Environmental GIS
Students will learn how to work with geospatial data to understand and address environmental issues. Popular GIS tools (such as ArcGIS) will be used to create maps for the effective communication of many types of environmental data. Relevant applications in areas such as climate science, biodiversity monitoring, and human-ecosystem interactions will be explored. More advanced […]
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Courses
LAW 3078: Commercial Space Law
This course will provide an overview of U.S. domestic legal regimes that govern commercial spaceflight activities, including those managed by the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, Department of Commerce, U.S. Defense Department and State Department. The course will examine existing regulations and statutes as well as current discussions about changes to policy and law […]
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Courses
HIST 3413: Outer Space—Plato to Pluto
Human beings, regardless of when and where, have looked to the skies and pondered, “what’s up there.” Answers and speculations have found their way into religious texts, scientific books, and the canon of world literature. Some reflections highlight the differences between the world above and the world we live in, others on connections and similarities. […]
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Courses
HIST 3415: Neighboring Worlds—The Moon, Mars, Venus, and Asteroids in History
We may be on the verge of a new era in humanity’s expansion into outer space. Space agencies in the United States, China, and Russia have all committed themselves to settlements on or near the Moon, and are building enormous rockets to make that possible. A growing number of space agencies have now dispatched satellites […]
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Courses
STIA 2270: Earth and Planetary Science
How did Earth become the planet we know today, and what can it teach us about worlds beyond our own? In this course, we’ll explore Earth as a dynamic system, from the crust that records our geologic history to the movement of water through aquifers, glaciers, and oceans, to the circulation of air that drives […]
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Courses
STIA 2700: Space for Environmental Action
The class will introduce how space technologies can be used for societal benefit on earth and explore what a sustained human presence in the space environment means for our future. Topics will include the present and future state of public and commercial satellite earth observing missions, innovations in satellite-data applications for climate action and sustainable […]
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Courses
STIA 4400: Space Diplomacy
Spaceflight increasingly serves as a powerful tool for diplomacy, fostering collaboration between nations and shaping global relations. This interdisciplinary course explores the role of outer space in international relations, examining how space programs, missions, and technologies influence political, economic, and strategic interactions on Earth. Throughout the semester, students will investigate how spaceflight has served as […]
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Courses
STIA 4406: Space Security and Exploration
Satellites provide a foundation for Earth and space science, weather forecasting, treaty verification, strategic and military intelligence, global communications and navigation, and projection of military power. This course will focus on intersections between space and international security, with additional discussion about modern space exploration and new private companies. We will cover four broad areas: fundamentals […]
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Courses
GOVT 3679: Interstellar Politics
Authors writing in the Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction (SF) genre have long explored political themes— such as the rise and decline of empires, the impact of technological change on individual liberty, the nature of revolutionary struggles, the workings of totalitarianism, and the impact of socio-political collapse on humankind. This seminar approaches SF as social-scientific and social-theoretic […]