2008-2009 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

CHEM C3098x and y Senior chemistry laboratory
Lab: 4 to 6 pts. The staff.
Prerequisite: the permission of the professor in
charge for entrance, and the permission of the
departmental representative for aggregate points
in excess of 12 or less than 4. Limited registration.
Fee: $105 per term. This course may be
repeated for credit (see major and concentration
requirements). Individual research under the
supervision of a member of the staff. Research
areas include organic, physical, inorganic, analytical,
and biological chemistry.
CHEM C3443x-C3444y Organic chemistry
(lecture)
Lect: 3.5 pts. V. Cornish, C. Nuckolls, and
D. Sames.
Prerequisite: CHEM C1404 or C1500 or their
equivalents. Premedical students may take
CHEM C3443, C3444, and C3543 to meet the
minimum requirements for admission to medical
school. The principles of organic chemistry. The
structure and reactivity of organic molecules are
examined from the standpoint of modern theories
of chemistry. Topics include stereochemistry,
reactions of organic molecules, mechanisms of
organic reactions, syntheses and degradations of
organic molecules, and spectroscopic techniques
of structure determination.
CHEM C3543x and y Organic chemistry
(laboratory)
Lab: 3 pts. L. Fine.
Prerequisite or corequisite: CHEM C3443-C3444.
Limited registration. Students planning to take a
full year of laboratory should enroll in CHEM
C3543 and C3544. Fee: $105. Techniques of
experimental organic chemistry, with emphasis on
understanding fundamental principles underlying
the experiments and methodology of solving laboratory
problems involving organic molecules.
CHEM C3546y Advanced organic chemistry
(laboratory)
Lab: 3 pts. L. Fine.
Prerequisite: CHEM C3543 or C3545. Limited
registration. Corequisite: C3444. Fee: $105.
A project laboratory with emphasis on complex
synthesis and advanced techniques including
qualitative organic analysis and instrumentation.
EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCES
Undergraduates in the four-year course
of study in the School of Engineering
and Applied Science may take courses
numbered to 4999 but may enter courses
of higher numbers only if
(1) the course is expressly included in
the prescribed curriculum or
(2) special permission is obtained from
the Department of Earth and
Environmental Sciences.
EESC V1011x Introduction to Earth sciences
Lect: 3. Lab: 3.4 pts. Professors Mutter and Nettles.
Students who wish to take only the lectures
should register for EESC V1411. What is the
nature of our planet and how did it form From
geochemical and geophysical perspectives we
explore Earth’s internal structure, its dynamical
character expressed in plate tectonics, and ask
if its future behavior can be known.
EESC V1030x Oceanography
3 pts. Professor Hoenisch.
Explore the geology of the sea floor, understand
what drives ocean currents and how ocean
ecosystems operate. Case studies and discussions
centered on ocean-related issues facing
society.
EESC V1201y Environmental risks and
disasters
3 pts. Professor Ekstrom.
Prerequisites: High-school science and mathematics.
An introduction to risks and hazards in the
environment. Different types of hazards are analyzed
and compared: natural disasters, such as
tornados, earthquakes, and meteorite impacts;
acute and chronic health effects caused by exposure
to radiation and toxic substances such as
radon, asbestos, and arsenic; long-term societal
effects due to environmental change, such as
sea level rise and global warming. Emphasizes
the basic physical principles controlling the hazardous
phenomena and develops simple quantitative
methods for making scientifically reasoned
assessments of the threats (to health and wealth)
posed by various events, processes, and exposures.
Discusses methods of risk mitigation
and sociological, psychological, and economic
aspects of risk control and management.
EESC W3018y Weapons of mass destruction
3 pts. Professors Richards and Miller.
Prerequisite: one semester of a lab science or
permission of the instructor. A review of the history
and environmental consequences of nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons of mass
destruction (WMD); of how these weapons work,
what they cost, how they have spread, how they
might be used, how they are currently controlled
by international treaties and domestic legislation,
and what issues of policy and technology arise in
current debates on WMD. What aspects of the
manufacture of WMD are easily addressed, and
what aspects are technically challenging It may
be expected that current events/headlines will be
discussed in class.
EESC W4001x Advanced general geology
3 pts. Lab: 3. 4 pts. Professors Scholz and Anders.
Prerequisite: One semester of college-level calculus,
physics, and chemistry. Fee: $35. A concentrated
introduction to the solid Earth, its interior,
and near-surface geology. Intended for students
with good backgrounds in the physical sciences
but none in geology. Laboratory and field trips.
EESC W4008x Introduction to atmospheric
science
Lect: 3. 3 pts. Professor Del Genio.
Prerequisite: advanced calculus and general
physics, or the instructor’s permission. Basic
physical processes controlling atmospheric
structure: thermodynamics; radiation physics
and radiative transfer; principles of atmospheric
dynamics; cloud processes; applications to
Earth’s atmospheric general circulation, climatic
variations, and the atmospheres of the other planets.
EESC W4009x. Chemical geology
4 pts. Offered in alternate years. Professor
Walker.
Prerequisites: physical chemistry or the instructor’s
permission. Thermodynamics as applied to earth
systems.
EESC W4050x Global assessment and
monitoring using remote sensing
3 pts. Offered in alternate years. Professor Small.
Prerequisite: permission of the instructors.
Recommended preparation: some college-level
physics or math. Enrollment limited to 24 students.
General introduction to fundamentals of
remote sensing and image processing. Example
applications in the Earth and environmental
sciences are explored through the analysis of
remote sensing imagery in a state-of-the-art
visualization laboratory. Lab required.
EESC W4076y Geologic mapping
3 pts. Professors Walker and Anders.
Field work on weekends in April and for two
weeks in mid-May, immediately following the end
of examinations. Estimated expenses: $250. The
principles and practice of deciphering geologic
history by observing rocks in the field, making
geological maps, constructing geological crosssections,
and writing short reports.
EESC W4085x Geodynamics
3 pts. Offered in alternate years. Professor Buck.
Prerequisites: calculus, differential equations,
introductory physics. Physical processes that control
plate tectonics and the evolution of planetary
interiors and surfaces; analytical descriptions of
these processes; weekly physical model demonstrations.
EESC W4113x Introduction to mineralogy
3. Lab: 3. 4 pts. Offered in alternate years.
Professor Walker.
Prerequisites: introductory geology or the equivalent
and elementary college physics and chemistry,
or the instructor’s permission. Elementary
crystallography and crystal structures, optical
properties of minerals, mineral associations and
phase equilibria, economic minerals. Laboratory:
identification of minerals in hand specimens,
chemical and physical tests, and use of the petrographic
microscope.
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SEAS 2008–2009