EM SC 100S : EMS FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR

The EMS First-Year Seminar is a required course for all EMS first-year students at the University Park campus. The seminar is taught in small sections (a maximum of 16 students per section) by senior members of the faculty. Sufficient sections are offered to accommodate all first year students during their first Fall semester.

The EMS First-Year Seminar is a three credit course designed to encourage students to begin the important process of "thinking for a living." It aims to:

* Promote critical reading and thinking, and help students develop effective written and oral arguments.
* Encourage individual and group learning and provide students the experience of being part of a cohort of scholars with similar interests and a common focus.
* Expose students to EMS interests and activities through early involvement in the College
* Provide at least one "friend" on the faculty in EMS to whom they can go for advice outside of the normal channels.
* Foster some of the practical skills necessary for academic life.
* Challenge students to think about some of the major issues facing the world today, and the role that science and technology play in defining and addressing these issues.

All sections emphasize reading and discussion, with a strong focus on writing and communication skills. Group discussion and group projects are a fundamental aspect of the course—there is little faculty lecturing. In some sections, each student maintains a common theme throughout the semester in which each writing assignment builds on the previous one to produce a comprehensive body of work on a single topic. Other sections allow topics to vary with each assignment. All of the sections require students to make several class presentations based on their written assignments. Students may enroll in any available section, with places allocated on a first come - first served basis. Further information on the seminar can be obtained from the EMS Student Center (Contact Jon Merritt at jhm3@psu.edu).

Example EMS First-Year Seminar sections:

Water and Oil: Are They Really Immiscible?
Dr. Turgay Ertekin

Under the topic of "Water and Oil", we will use a scenario development approach to explore the possibility of having world-scale conflicts due to the paramount importance of these two natural resources. Student groups will hypothesize events that could take place during the first 50 years of the new millennium. The postulated events will be placed on a timeline and geographic locations that are vulnerable to these events will be identified. In the development of scenarios, teams will base their analyses and deductions on the projected supply and demand of these two commodities. The impacts of the expected technological developments and potential geopolitical conflicts on these scenarios will be considered. Finally, we will try to identify technical and cross-cultural avenues that will navigate us out of some of these potential bottleneck situations. Teams will have opportunities to present their scenarios both orally and in writing. Throughout the course, the instructor will assist students in expanding their thinking and sharpening their presentation skills.

Asteroids and Extinctions: Cosmic Death and Destruction
Dr. Timothy Bralower

This interdisciplinary seminar will focus on the evolution of asteroids and comets and the deadly effects of collisions of these objects with the Earth. Such impacts have dramatically altered the course of evolution and scarred our planet's surface. We will examine how geologists reconstruct major past impact events from the sedimentary and fossil record. The seminar will be integrated with hands-on lab sessions involving fossils affected by mass extinctions, the dinosaur range record, and interpretation of rock thin sections using light and scanning electron microscopy. Students will develop improved writing, speaking and presentation/debate skills throughout the semester with Writing Tutor Joe Schall and Speech Communications Specialist Sandra French. These skills will be put into use via individual and group presentations at the conclusion of the semester.

Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy
Dr. Dennis Thomson

Environmental science, technology and policy (societal, health, economic, etc.) are prenatal-to-grave issues of critical concern at scales ranging from the health of micro-organisms and individual humans to ecosystems and the planet Earth as a whole. Because there are no free lunches and no easy answers, studies of current environmental problems provide an exceptional basis for developing critical thinking, writing and speaking skills. Each student in this course must explore in depth at least one environmental/societal problem, develop arguments pro or con regarding present policies (or need for such), and be prepared to defend a position before his or her classmate peers. In this course the class works on developing skills necessary to locate, analyze and present scientific and technical data. The presentation exercises are focused particularly on communicating effectively the concepts and applications of science and technology to people having limited education in science: e.g., many individuals in business, law, public policy, politics, etc.

Materials in Energy Systems
Dr. Digby Macdonald

The use of various types of materials in energy-producing systems will be explored, to illustrate the vital role played by high performance materials in a modern energy-producing infrastructure. The systems explored will include thermal power plants (nuclear and conventional), anticipated nuclear fusion plants, solar power, wind turbines, hydro plants, geothermal, and gas turbines. The seminar will begin with a series of lectures on the conditions existing within each of these systems, and with a discussion of the engineering expectations for the materials from which they are constructed. The principal modes of failure will be identified, and the operational consequences of failure will be outlined. The class will then work in teams to research each area in greater depth, and prepare position papers on each topic. Finally, oral reports will be presented by all participants, which will be graded along with the position papers in determining individual grades.

Exploring the Oceans and Marine Environment
Dr. Robert G. Crane

Students will explore the history of human understanding and exploitation of the marine environment. Discussions will range from critical events in ocean exploration to key roles that the oceans play in the Earth System. In the process we will build a conceptual understanding of contrasting marine environments from deep-sea vents to coral reefs. Students will investigate these topics individually and in teams - learning how to define problems, collect and analyze information, and draw conclusions from the data. The emphasis will be on the effective communication of these findings to the class via written papers, presentations, and electronic media.

Natural Hazards and Environmental Risk Assessment
Dr. Shelton Alexander

This seminar will focus on natural and manmade hazard and risk problems that are important both in the U.S. and globally. The natural hazards include phenomena such as earthquakes, severe weather (hurricanes and tornadoes), floods, droughts and wildfires. Manmade hazards include groundwater and air pollution, nuclear waste disposal, acid rain, products from fossil fuel burning, toxic substances, and war. Risk analysis associated with each hazard involves assessing the adverse effects caused by the hazard (e.g. economic loss, death or injury to humans, induced changes in the environment such as global warming, etc.). Each student selects a problem in one of these areas to investigate in depth during the semester and describe in a written report and oral presentations to the class. Students also work collaboratively in small groups to address various types of hazard and risk assessments and present them to the class.

Environmental Management on Planet Earth and Beyond
Dr. Lisa L. Brown

Students will explore various aspects of our interaction with the Earth from the perspective of human exploration and settlement beyond planet Earth. The class will critically examine current environmental issues on Earth and apply this knowledge to proposed scenarios for exploiting resources in space. Students will work individually and collaboratively in small groups to investigate these topics and present them to the class. Each student will be responsible for leading class discussions and giving oral and written presentations.