Courses taught at the IfA
Ast 110: Survey of Astronomy
This is a non-mathematical, introductory class for undergraduate non-science majors. I give a broad overview of astronomy from planets to quasars. Click on the link above for the course web page.
(taught Spring 2005)
Ast 622: The Interstellar Medium
The Interstellar Medium (ISM) is the gas and dust between the stars. Stars form from it, their winds and supernova enrich and replenish it. Temperatures in the ISM range from the very hot, ~106 K, to the very cold, ~10 K. Densities span an even wider dynamic range, from less than 10-3 to greater than 106 particles per cubic centimeter. Even the highest densities, however, are far more rarefied than the best vacuums currently attainable on Earth and thus the ISM allows us to explore physical processes in unique environments. This course will discuss observations and theories of a wide range of ISM environments from pervasive diffuse, ionized gas to dense, molecular clouds and star forming regions. In the last part of the course, we will transition from interstellar to circumstellar material (i.e. disks) as this is an active area of research at the IfA.
(taught Spring 2004, 2006, 2008)
Ast 736: Sub-millimeter Astronomy
This series of seminars will introduce students to a range of astronomical phenomena that can be explored at sub-millimeter wavelengths and also include a practical introduction to how telescopes, receivers and spectrometers work at these wavelengths. Observational and data reduction issues, for both single-dish telescopes and interferometers, will be discussed with an emphasis on the facilities available on Mauna Kea (CSO, JCMT, SMA). Students will each lead a discussion on scientific results ranging from the solar system, to galactic and extragalactic ISM, to cosmology.
(taught Spring 2003)
Geo 669: Formation of Solar Systems
How did the Earth and other planets form? How common are planets around other stars, and what are their properties? These questions are at the forefront of the earth and space sciences and are the modern manifestations of questions about our origin and uniqueness that are probably as old as human consciousness itself. Observations and measurements have almost always preceded theory in this field of inquiry, and hence this course is structured according to the three windows through which almost everything has been learned in this field: (1) astronomical observations of the process of star and planet formation; (2) measurements of early events recorded in Solar System materials, and detection and (3) characterization of planets around other stars.
(co-taught with Sasha Krot and Eric Gaidos, Spring 2006)