With the beginning of registration for spring courses, we’d like to share a sampling of environmental-themed classes that are available to undergraduate students for the upcoming semester. This list is not comprehensive, so we encourage students to explore the spring course list in detail to find the classes that are the right fit for them.
ANTH 391 (CRN: 24050): SPECULATIVE FUTURES
Instructor: Howe, Alyssa C.
Meeting: 2:30PM - 5:00PM T
Description: Drawing from “CliFi,” “Speculative Fiction, “and global anthropological case studies, this course analyzes a series of potential futures as earthly conditions continue to be altered by human activity. Students will develop speculative future models through assessing climate conditions, population displacement, ethics, ecological transformations and human practices and values.
ARCH 322 (CRN: 21130): CASE STUDIES IN SUSTAINABILITY: THE REGENERATIVE REPOSITIONING OF NEW OR EXISTING RICE CAMPUS BUILDINGS
Instructor: Taylor, Rives T.
Meeting: 7:00PM - 9:45PM R
Description: This course will explore application of high performance, sustainable design to specific Rice University campus and facility targets. In partnership with Rice University leadership, the team effort will develop "regenerative redesign" approaches based on investigation of other campuses' case study. Space is limited and registration does not guarantee a space in this course. The final course roster is formulated on the first day of class by the individual instructor. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for ARCH 322 and ARCH 622.
CEVE 307 (CRN: 20101): ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Instructor: Cohan, Daniel S.
Meeting: 9:25AM - 10:40AM TR
Description: This course explores the physical principles of energy use and its impacts on Earth's environment and climate. Topics will include energy mechanics, climate change, and the environmental impacts and future prospects of various fossil fuel and alternative energy sources. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CEVE 307 and CEVE 507.
CEVE 308 (CRN: 23953): INTRODUCTION TO AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
Instructor: Griffin, Robert J.
Meeting: 10:00AM - 10:50AM MWF
Prerequisites: (CHEM 122 OR CHEM 152) AND MATH 102 AND (PHYS 101 OR PHYS 111 OR PHYS 125 OR PHYS 141)
Description: This course will discuss the history of air pollution and its effects as motivation for control of anthropogenic emissions to the atmosphere. Topics will include air pollution control strategies and regulations, predictive pollution concentration models, general ideas to reduce air pollution, and specific technologies to limit emissions of criteria pollutants and their precursors. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for CEVE 308 and CEVE 508.
CEVE 314 (CRN: 22671): SUSTAINABLE WATER PURIFICATION FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD
Instructor: Loyo Rosales, Jorge E.
Meeting: 11:00AM - 12:15PM MW
Description: This course is an introduction to innovative methods of small scale water purification which are appropriate for implementation in the developing world. Through a class project and the different components of the course, students will acquire and hone a sustainable methodology for addressing global health problems at the local level.
CEVE 406 (CRN: 23955): INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Instructor: Blackburn, James B.
Meeting: 1:00PM - 2:15PM TR
Description: Introduction to Environmental Law is intended to introduce the student to the methods used by the United States and the international community to regulate and/or allocate air, water and land resources. A key focus of this course will be the emerging area of the law of sustainable development, including the implementation of full price costing, life cycle analysis, carbon cycle analysis, allocation of assimilative capacity and other similar issues.
CEVE 442 (CRN: 24210): ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS ENGINEERING
Instructor: Stadler, Lauren B.
Meeting: 1:00PM - 1:50PM MWF
Prerequisites: CEVE 310
Description: An introduction to the principles of physical, chemical, and biological processes, operations and reactor configurations commonly used for water quality control; analysis and design of specific water and wastewater treatment processes and operations; and overview of related economic and legislative constraints and requirements.
EBIO 204 (CRN: 20393): ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: THE DESIGN & PRACTICE OF COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE
Instructor: Novak, Joseph R.
Meeting: 4:00PM - 4:50PM R
Description: The course introduces the fundamentals of community garden design and practice. Responsibilities will center on developing and improving the Rice Community Garden. A strong emphasis will be on learning and applying ecological principles to the practice of community agriculture. Class has required meetings outside of regular class time. Repeatable for Credit.
EBIO 270 (CRN: 20869): ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT
Meeting: 4:00PM - 6:50PM R
Description: This course will focus on applied ecosystem topics including relations with state and federal agencies, field studies, wetland delineations, permitting compliance, and environmental regulations. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for EBIO 270 and EBIO 570.
EBIO 324 (CRN: 24052): CONSERVATION BIOLOGY LAB
Instructor: Simoes Correa, Adrienne M.
Meeting: 1:00PM - 5:00PM M
Prerequisites: EBIO 213 AND EBIO 323
Description: This course will give students hands-on experiences in the practice of conservation biology through authentic projects related to prioritization and design of nature preserves, restoration of natural environments, and for monitoring threatened and endangered species in the Houston area. EBIO 323 may be taken concurrently with EBIO 324. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for EBIO 324 and EBIO 524.
EBIO 372 (CRN: 20849): CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS
Instructor: Simoes Correa, Adrienne M.
Meeting: 1:00PM - 2:15PM TR
Prerequisites: EBIO 202
Description: This three credit lecture course introduces students to a complex, dynamic and sensitive ecosystem: coral reefs. We will explore the biotic and abiotic components of coral reefs; how reef organisms interact with each other and the environment, and the factors that contribute to reef construction and decline over time and space. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for EBIO 372 and EBIO 572.
ENGL 309 (CRN: 24049): NONFICTION NATURE WRITING
Instructor: Johnson, Lacy M.
Meeting: 1:00PM - 3:50PM T
Description: A variable topics workshop in the writing of creative nonfiction. Topics will vary from semester to semester and may include "Nature Writing," "Life Writing," "History of the Essay," and more.
ENST 117 (CRN: 24197): FRESHMAN SEMINAR IN LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
Instructor: Pyle, Lacey A.
Meeting: 1:00PM - 2:15PM M
Session: 2nd Half of Full Term (27-FEB-2017 - 21-APR-2017)
Description: A 7-week seminar course to introduce freshmen perspective environmental science researches to the excitement of research at Rice and in the broader Houston area, and to provide context with which to think about facts presented in textbooks. Small groups will meet weekly with a graduate student or postdoctoral researcher to explore a published research article by a local team of researchers, gaining background information about the subject and exposure to the research techniques. In the final session, the group will tour the lab that produced the feature article. Additional tours and activities TBA. All first year non-transfer students are eligible to enroll in ENST 117 regardless of AP credit. This course meets in the second half of the semester and features research in the Environmental Science Major.
ENST 441 (CRN: 24028): GOVERNING THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMONS
Instructor: Wilson, Rick K.
Meeting: 2:00PM - 4:30PM W
Prerequisites: POLI 395
Description: Common Property Resources (CPRs), such as fisheries, aquifers, and the Internet, appear in many guises and pose a fundamental problem for governing. Exploration of theoretical underpinnings for CPRs, their growing literature, and the political and economic institutions mediating CPR dilemmas. Included is an original research project in conjunction with the instructor.
ESCI 101 (CRN: 20222): THE EARTH
Instructor: Nittrouer, Jeffrey A.
Meeting: 10:50AM - 12:05PM TR
Description: Study of the nature of the Earth and its processes.
ESCI 109 (CRN: 21820): OCEANOGRAPHY
Instructor: Dickens, Gerald R.
Meeting: 11:00AM - 11:50AM MWF
Description: Introduction to the oceans, with an emphasis on how the physics, chemistry, geology, and biology of the oceans are linked.
ESCI 380 (CRN: 22316): VISUALIZING NATURE
Instructors: Winningham, Geoffrey L.; Lenardic, Adrian
Meeting: 4:00PM - 5:15PM TR
Description: An experimental course combining the scientific disciplines of the earth sciences with the artistic disciplines of creative photography to study the natural landscape and related ecosystems. The course will combine classroom lectures and laboratory demonstrations in geoscience with classes in the use of digital and film-based cameras and illustrated lectures on recognized achievements in landscape photography. Extensive field trips will be scheduled. Students will travel frequently, at times in pairs, other times in larger groups and as a full class, accompanied by one or both professors. The budget for the course includes funding both for travel and for photography expenses.
FWIS 157 (CRN: 23419): THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF FOOD
Instructor: Morgan, Molly
Meeting: 1:00PM - 1:50PM MWF
Description: The Archaeology of Food introduces students to methods for understanding the wide human experience through an emphasis on food and an anthropological approach. This holistic approach encompasses the entirety of what we eat, where it comes from, how our bodies are affected, and how it acquires cultural meaning.
SPPO 411 (CRN: 23754): LITERATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN LATIN AMERICA
Instructor: Loiselle, Gisela
Meeting: 1:00PM - 3:30PM T
Description: Formerly SPAN 403. This course aims to offer students a systematic contact with a representative sample of the literature and scholarship about the mutual relationships between human societies and their natural environments, particularly but not exclusively in Latin America. Taught in Spanish. Recommended Prerequisite(s): SPAN 301, 302, 303, 312, or Permission of the Instructor.