GEO401: Physical Geology

This course is one of the first required for undergraduates seeking to major in any of the many degrees in the Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. I give a series of lectures that familiarize the student with the processes and materials that shape the Earth and enable them to be more knowledgeable about the environment in which they live. The laboratory course allows students to apply the lecture material to real geologic problems.

Lab Manual, I developed for the course 

GEO386: Metamorphic Petrology

The course covers key aspects of metamorphic rocks and processes from a range of environments, including subduction zones, collisional and extensional mountain belts, deep crust, and contact metamorphic settings. The course has a field-based focus in terms of working with and examining rocks from type localities. I aim to increase the student’s practical understanding of how metamorphic petrology is applied to understanding tectonic questions.

I also team-taught a graduate course in Thermodynamics of Petrological Systems. That course introduced thermodynamics and how to utilize thermodynamics to study the formation of rocks, focusing on metamorphic and magmatic systems. Topics I covered include thermodynamic modeling of crystallization at various pressure-temperature–fluid composition conditions and the fundamentals of geothermobarometry and its use to interpret the formation conditions of rocks.

GEO390R: Analytical Methods: Electron Microbeam Techniques

This course covers scanning electron microscopy (SEM), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), electron microprobe analysis (EMPA), methods of sample preparation, and hands-on-practices with both hardware and software. Also included are energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) and wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS) of characteristic X-rays, electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), and cathodoluminescence (CL). By the end of the course, the student should be familiar with the operation of the SEM and electron microprobe instruments housed in the Dept. of Geological Sciences.

GEO302K: Geology of National Parks

The goal of this course is to increase the student’s understanding of the geology of the US National Park System, through the detailed examination of its rocks, landscapes, climate, hydrology, natural resources, and environmental impacts. They develop an understanding of the geology of particular national parks, carefully chosen as providing examples of specific Earth processes that worked to shape them.

Example of student work: Air Quality in the National Parks: Outcome of a Citizen Science Course Project

Rocks and Water of the Middle East

The Middle East has been singled out as one of the most crucial regional arenas for U.S. foreign policy in the coming years. The region, defined in this course as encompassing western Asia and North Africa, has long been known for its prolific energy resources. The region has been a breeding ground for the development of models of continental extrusion, rifting and extension, and collisional dynamics, and more recent issues such as ecoterrorism and global warming. This course’s primary focus is developing a student’s knowledge of its geology.

I have taught this class at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, with the basic aims to improve the student’s understanding of the geology and tectonics of particular regions of the Middle East.

GEO416K: Earth Materials

This course is geared towards introducing you to minerals, mineral study techniques, igneous and metamorphic rocks, ore deposits, and ore formation processes. Minerals are the fundamental building blocks of all rocks, and consequently, the Earth and other planets. Mineralogy combines elements of physics, chemistry, math, and geology and is a descriptive, analytical, and experimental science. Mineralogists try to understand the physical properties, chemical composition, crystal structure, occurrence, and distribution of minerals, and the physical and chemical processes that lead to the formation and destruction of minerals in nature.

Lab Manual, I developed for the course