Category: Furman

Premiering EES YouTube Channel

smuthukrishnan / / Alumni News, Department, Field Trip, Furman, Iceland, RBRI Research, Student News, Travel

We are working hard to find as many ways as possible to connect and keep in touch with our students, alumni, and friends.  Over the years, our collection of videos and photographs from field trips and study away trips have been growing, and we have launched our own video streaming channel on YouTube to share those with you.  This collection will be growing over the weeks and months to come as we slowly sort and upload the videos.  We hope these are helpful not only for alumni to reminisce your days at Furman but also for any one else in the world that want to see the places of geologic interest that we have been to and learn more about our student research projects.  So go on, explore them.

Click on the following link to visit the channel with a lot more videos.

EES_You_Tube

New degree in “Sustainability Science” within EES

smuthukrishnan / / Department, Earthscience News, Furman, Sustainability

Sustainability ScienceLast week, in an unanimous vote, Furman faculty approved addition of a new degree program in Sustainability Science within the Earth and Environmental Sciences department.  Furman is one of a handful of schools that offers a rigorous, interdisciplinary science degree in sustainability area in the country. 

The Sustainability Science major focuses on the critical linkages between global environmental, human, and social systems. The Sustainability Science focuses on how humans and the environment affect one another on a variety of spatial and temporal scales, and how changes in one system affect others. For example, what social changes need to be made to address Global Warming, and how will implementing those changes affect various communities both culturally and economically? This model highlights the centrality of complex systems analysis, which will be emphasized in the curriculum of the major.

Thus, Sustainability Science integrates social, economic, and governance systems into the analyses of environmental change and resource availability and acknowledges that feedbacks in both natural and social systems play an important role in either accelerating or slowing change. This core skill of thinking about complex systems is valuable to all disciplines, and is absolutely necessary to Sustainability Science and will be emphasized within the major.

Students pursuing this degree will take one introductory course, four core courses, five upper level elective courses that are distributed across disciplines, MTH 150, and complete a senior thesis. Because of the degree of potential overlap of electives between Sustainability Science major and Earth and Environmental Science major, students will not be allowed to double major in both EES and SUS.

Fall for India in 2011– A Semester Study Away Experience

smuthukrishnan / / Department, Faculty News, Field Trip, Furman, Travel

This program will begin with intensive six-week course work at Furman, followed by a five-week residential experience at Madras Christian College (MCC) in Chennai, India. This will then be capped with a 4 week travel program from south to north India. The Fall 2011 courses offer an array of closely connected and interdisciplinary pursuits including, but not limited to, the natural environment, natural resources, population dynamics, urbanization, natural and anthropogenic hazards, gender, developmental psychology, poverty, health, culture, and sustainability.

clip_image002An ancient landslide dominates the landscape in this beautiful tea plantation along the Western Ghats (mountain) ranges of India. As one travels from Tamil Nadu (east) to Kerala (west), one can experience significant changes in the climate, vegetation, and culture. With abundant rainfall from monsoon, and relative inaccessibility, this region maintains it’s reputation as one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world. We will learn about the origin of these mountains, agricultural practices (spice plantations!), natural hazards, health and educational issues, and sustainability challenges facing the people of this region.clip_image002[6]

An oblique aerial view of the neighboring city and large river valley from top of the hill where an ancient temple sits. South India is famous for it’s rich culture, and temples with unique architecture and exquisite statues. Geologically, the rocks used to build these temples are some of the oldest rocks one can find in India.

Courses and Credits:  This program offers four interconnected courses: Introduction to Geographic Information System (EES 201), India’s Natural Resources, Hazards, and Sustainability (EES 360), Poverty, Gender and Development in India (AST 282)Urbanization, Health and Environment in India (IDS 280) and will tentatively carry Empirical Study of the Natural World (NW), Humans and the Natural Environment (NE), Human Behavior (HB), and World Cultures (WC). 
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For More Information, Contact:  Dr. Suresh Muthukrishnan (EES) and Dr. Veena Khandke (Asian Studies) or visit the following web sites

http://furman.edu/depts/asianstudies

http://furman.edu/depts/india/

Annual EES Award Winners Announced

smuthukrishnan / / Department, Furman, Student News

At the annual awards ceremony held at Furman on 12th April,2010, the following Earth and Environmental Sciences students were recognized.  Congratulations to all three of them!

2010 Earth and Environmental Sciences Research Award Winner – Gwyn Fowler

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This award recognizes a senior that has completed an outstanding original research project and shows great promise for a career as a scientist.  Gwyn Fowler’s passion towards research brought her to the RBRI program in 2008, and subsequently she received grants from the Furman Advantage and Geological Society of America.  Her investigation of the geomorphic controls over nitrate concentrations in urban headwater streams of the South Carolina Piedmont has enhanced our understanding of how urban streams work. A talented musician as well as a bright young researcher, Gwyn has received a full scholarship to attend Clemson and is awaiting decisions from other Universities.

2010 Earth and Environmental Sciences Scholar Award Winner – Jeff Hennesey

2009D3S201A_Jeff-Hennessy

This award recognizes the senior student that is deemed by the faculty to be the outstanding EES scholar in the graduating class.  Jeff Hennesey models the liberal arts tradition with his enthusiastic and cheerful blend of Earth and environmental science and policy.  Jeff excels in both the classroom and in independent research.  His investigation for Upstate Forever of greenhouse gas emissions for the region in relation to growth was a major contribution and represents the kind of collaboration with the local community to which Furman aspires.

2010 Environmental Studies Concentration Scholar Award Winner – Katie Shultz

2010D1201A_Katie Shultz

This award recognizes a student that is deemed the outstanding scholar in the Environmental Studies Concentration.  Katie Shultz certainly can be considered outstanding as a scholar, but she is also known for her passion for and commitment to sustainability and environmental issues both on and off campus.  Katie is the rare outstanding scholar that transforms her ideas into action.  Active in the Environmental Action Group and other campus organizations, Katie is proactive in using her knowledge to develop creative approaches to problems of sustainability at both the local and global scales.

Rock Garden at the Townes Science Center

smuthukrishnan / / Department, Furman, Photos, Sustainability

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The landscape (rock and botanic garden) around Charles H. Townes Science Center has been designed to reflect the geologic and botanical variations observed from the mountains to the ocean in South Carolina and Southern Appalachian in general.  The rock garden contains numerous large specimens collected from mines in the Southern Appalachian region.  A new website has been launched to help people see the landscape and learn about the rocks.

Please visit the web page at : http://ees.furman.edu/rockgarden/