Fall 2024
Course Offerings
Baseball is somewhere in the middle of a data revolution. From high-speed video and structure from motion, to doppler radar and wearable global positioning systems, observational data are becoming ubiquitous, both on the TV, and on the practice field. However, little is known about the precision and accuracy of the various devices scattered around stadiums, and less is known about how to distill actionable information from the overwhelming quantity of data. In this course, you will design experiments, collect data, write computer code, and communicate results, with the aim of informing new strategies for training, scouting, and competing.
Freshman Seminar
Some 125 stone plaques in Rome mark inundations dating back 800 years. We trace the rise and fall of the Tiber using the tools of geodesy. We introduce the quantitative geoscience of measuring Earth's shape, deformation, and its gravity field. Lectures on fundamental principles and programming exercises prepare for outdoor on-campus field-work and the mandatory week-long research trip to Italy. In Rome, we measure and map the elevation of known historical flood markers, placing them in the chronological context of urbanization, interpreting them in the light of humanity's attempts to control nature.
Prior Semesters
Course Offerings
Sabermetrics has revolutionized the way in which professional athletic teams think about sports. Professional athletic teams from all over the world now use analytic tools and techniques drawn from multiple disciplines, including mathematics, computer science, data science, and graphic design, to help coaches and scouts with decision making, and to help athletes train and strategize. Through this seminar, students will analyze data related to baseball using a range of tools and data sources and apply their understandings of technology and basic physics to develop a novel stereo-radar instrument alongside other existing tools.
INSTRUCTORS:
Adam C. Maloof, Joe Haumacher
This course presents a treatment of the physical and chemical processes that shape Earth's surface, such as solar radiation, deformation of the solid Earth, and the flow of water (vapor, liquid, and solid) under the influence of gravity. In particular,the generation, transport, and preservation of sediment in response to these processes is studied in order to better read stories of Earth history in the geologic record and to better understand processes involved in modern and ancient environmental change.
Glaciers and ice sheets are important elements of Earth's global climate system. This course introduces undergraduate and graduate students to the history of ice on Earth, contemporary glaciology, and the interactions between climate, glaciers, landforms, and sea level. Drawing from basic physical concepts, lab experiments, numerical modeling, and geological observations, we tackle important physical processes in glaciology, and equip students with data analysis and modeling skills. Students will gain an appreciation for the importance of ice sheets for the global climate system, and the large gaps that remain in our understanding.
A yearlong survey, in sequence, of fundamental papers in the geosciences. Topics in 505 (Spring) include the origin and interior of the Earth, plate tectonics, geodynamics, the history of life on Earth, the composition of the Earth, its oceans and atmospheres, past climate. Topics in 506 (Fall) include present and future climate, biogeochemical processes in the ocean, geochemical cycles, orogenies, thermochronology, rock fracture and seismicity. A core course for all beginning graduate students in the geosciences.
This course presents a treatment of the physical and chemical processes that shape Earth's surface, such as solar radiation, deformation of the solid Earth, and the flow of water (vapor, liquid, and solid) under the influence of gravity. In particular, the generation, transport, and preservation of sediment in response to these processes is studied in order to better read stories of Earth history in the geologic record and to better understand processes involved in modern and ancient environmental change. Taught in parallel with GEO 370.
Glaciers and ice sheets are important elements of Earths global climate system. This course introduces graduate students to the history of ice on Earth, contemporary glaciology, and the interactions between climate, glaciers, landforms, and sea level. Drawing from basic physical concepts, lab experiments, numerical modeling, and geological observations, we tackle important physical processes in glaciology, and equip students with data analysis and modeling skills. Students gain an appreciation for the importance of ice sheets for the global climate system, and the large gaps that remain in our understanding.
GEO 370 / ENV 370 / CEE 370 (Spring '20)
Sedimentology
This course presents a treatment of the physical and chemical processes that shape Earth's surface, such as solar radiation, deformation of the solid Earth, and the flow of water (vapor, liquid, and solid) under the influence of gravity. In particular,the generation, transport, and preservation of sediment in response to these processes is studied in order to better read stories of Earth history in the geologic record and to better understand processes involved in modern and ancient environmental change.
INSTRUCTORS:
Adam C. Maloof
GEO 201 (Fall '18, '16, '14)
Measuring Climate Change: Methods in Data Analysis and Scientific Writing
Students will use drone-derived models of landscapes, georeferenced field observations of the natural world, and data mining of the primary literature in combination with quantitative modeling to answer questions like: How have ancient climate changes been preserved in modern landscapes and the rock record? How is climate changing now, and how do we measure it? Designed for sophomores in preparation for independent work, the course emphasizes the articulation of a compelling hypothesis and the development of a clearly structured argument based on data, analysis, and engagement with relevant sources.
INSTRUCTORS:
Amanda E. Irwin Wilkins
Adam C. Maloof
Princeton Writing Program - GEO/WRI 201
Freshman Seminars
Earth: Crops, Culture, and Climate (in Italy)
INSTRUCTORS:
Adam C. Maloof and Frederik J. Simons
This seminar is about natural science and technology, and has a laboratory component to it: students should come prepared with an aptitude for, and a willingness to learn, the quantitative aspects of scientific inquiry and numerical modeling. Scientific writing and computer programming are integral parts of this seminar and its assessment. We teach and require the use of LaTeX—annoying now, helpful later on. MORE INFO
How Green is Your Campus? (On Campus, In Person)
The Seminar formerly known as: Earth: Crops, Culture, and Climate (in Italy)
Also formerly known as: Earth's Climate: A Tale of Many Weathers (not in Italy)
INSTRUCTORS:
Adam C. Maloof and Frederik J. Simons
How green is Princeton’s campus? What is the total area of green space, and is all green space of equal quality? In nominally green areas, how diverse is the vegetation, how tall are the trees, how healthy are the leaves, and how permeable is the soil? Each student will be in charge of a square subregion of the campus where they will make a battery of measurements using a diversity of instruments. The ultimate group goal is to build a quantitative digital map of campus greenness. Individual student goals for final research papers can vary from tracking campus greenness through time (seasonally or over the past 90 years using available data sources), comparing Princeton’s campus to other universities (using satellite data where available), assessing the sustainability of Princeton’s expansion plans, or comparing this year’s observations with ongoing monitoring projects such as noise pollution or climate change. READ MORE
Earth's Climate: A Tale of Many Weathers
INSTRUCTORS:
Adam C. Maloof and Frederik J. Simons
How green is Princeton's campus? What is the total area of green space, and is all green space of equal quality? In nominally green areas, how diverse is the vegetation, how tall are the trees, how healthy are the leaves, and how permeable is the soil? Each student will be in charge of a square subregion of the campus where they will make a battery of measurements using a diversity of instruments. The ultimate group goal is to build a quantitative map of campus greenness, with which we can address problems as diverse as sustainability and climate change. READ MORE
FRS 124 (Spring '17) and FRS 135 (Fall '15 & '17)
State of the Earth: Shifts and Cycles
INSTRUCTORS:
Adam C. Maloof and Frederik J. Simons
This is a science class: students came prepared with an aptitude for, and a willingness to learn, the quantitative aspects of scientific inquiry. Scientific writing and computer programming are integral parts of this seminar and its assessment. We teach and require the use of LaTeX! MORE INFO
FRS 171 & 187 (Fall '11, '12 & '13)
Earth's Environments and Ancient Civilizations
INSTRUCTORS:
Adam C. Maloof and Frederik J. Simons
In this Freshman Seminar, you combine field observations of the natural world with quantitative modeling and interpretation in order to answer questions like: How does environmental change alter the course of civilization, and how do civilizations modify their environment? How have Earth and human histories been recorded in the geology and archaeology of Cyprus, and what experiments can we do to query such archives of the past? In the classroom, through problem sets, and on campus excursions, you gain practical experience collecting geological and geophysical data in geographic context, and analyzing these data using software and programming languages like ArcGIS and MATLAB. MORE INFO
FRS 145 & 149 (Fall '07, '08 & '09)
Earth's Changing Surface and Climate
INSTRUCTORS:
Adam C. Maloof and Frederik J. Simons
The surface of Earth today, an amalgamation of mountain ranges, basins, and the hydrosphere, records an integrated history of processes that act on a range of time scales spanning seventeen orders of magnitude. The central question treated in this Freshman Seminar is: How does Earth's surface evolve in response to internal (e.g., tectonic and magmatic), surficial (e.g., weather, climate, and anthropogenic effects), and external (e.g., extraterrestrial) forcing? MORE INFO