IGERT Courses

First Year Course Framework

Communication across disciplines requires a common language and appreciation for the other fields. Graduate students will be recruited from core disciplines and thus need preparation to effectively communicate across disciplinary boundaries. For instance, incoming graduate students in the life sciences often have a good understanding of biological processes but lack quantitative skills and knowledge in physical processes; whereas the reverse is often true for engineering students. To equip students with the skills to contribute new knowledge within our research themes and to bridge intellectual differences, a one-year, comprehensive, team-taught course will immerse all first year students to the participating scientific core disciplines. The course will integrate physical, chemical, geomorphological, and biological processes in a common theoretical framework. It will lead students through data collection at different spatial scales to analysis and model building. Data collection will be supported through instrumentation that will allow studies ranging from the microscopic examination of trace elements and microorganisms to the field scale examination of chemical transport processes and vegetation patterns across the landscape. Case studies will complement the conceptual framework. An integral part will be collaborative projects that will culminate in a one-week, working group retreat.

2006-07 Courses and Seminars