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Time and location: Mon, 2-4, 107 Mulford Hall
CCN: 29902
Description: Due to the specific properties that materials exhibit when manufactured at the nanoscale, engineered nanoparticles offer many socio-economic, health and environmental benefits. With estimates that the production of engineered nanomaterials will increase from 2,000 to 58,000 tons between 2004 and 2011-2020, it is inevitable that nanoparticles will be released in natural environments such as soils and water. However, their environmental fate and behavior are still relatively unknown. Topics covered in this graduate seminar include state-of-the-art techniques for the characterization and measurement of nanoparticles at environmentally-relevant concentrations, the transport and fate of nanoparticles in the environment, the environmental applications of nanomaterials, their interactions with inorganic and organic pollutants, as well as their ecotoxicological impacts. We will also discuss new methods for developing nanomaterials with less environmental risk.
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Time and location: Mon, Wed, & Fri 10-11, 132 Mulford Hall
Description: Introduction to basic principles of soil science, including soil formation and classification and the physical, engineering, chemical and biological properties of soils. Overview of methods of soil description, identification, geographic distribution and uses. The role of soil in supplying water and nutrients to plants and soil organisms and soil management for agriculture, forestry, and urban uses will also be discussed. We will also explore how to use those principles to minimize the degradation of soils.
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Time and location: Mon, Wed, & Fri 12-1, 132 Mulford Hall
Description: Introduction to the organisms that live in the soil and their activities in the soil ecosystem. Lectures will cover the physical and chemical properties of soils and the soil as a habitat for microorganisms, the diversity and ecology of soil microorganisms, and their activity in the context of biogeochemical cycling, plant-microbe interactions, global environmental change and bioremediation.
Goals: To gain fundamental knowledge of the occurrence and activities of soil microorganisms and their influence on soil productivity and environmental quality as well as potential applications of soil microbiology. This course is targeted at advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students who require a comprehensive treatment of the field of soil microbiology.
Topics include:
- Soil as a habitat for microorganisms
- Occurrence and distribution of soil organisms
- Methods for studying soil microorganisms
- Carbon cycling and soil organic matter
- Biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and metals
- Xenobiotic degradation and bioremediation
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