This class is highly technical, so that students will spend a significant amount of time outside of class working through the equations and physical principles. There will be weekly homework assignments from each of the 8 chapters of the required textbook designed to reinforce the principles taught in class and give some examples of applications of the material. You are encouraged to work in groups, but please hand in your own work.
Course organization:
Details
of the material to be covered are given in the schedule below.
We will cover the entire Stephens book by Spring break (about a chapter
per week). While this sounds intense, when I first taught this class at
UC Irvine in 1996 I covered the same material in 8 weeks, and I found
that this was a good pace for really learning the material. The book
isn't particularly difficullt to read, so that if one goes slower it
can become boring! My lectures will emphasize the main concepts, and
I will go through difficult derivations. I will either hand out my
notes OR (most likely) post them on the web. Therefore, you might wish
to refrain from taking detailed notes unless I indicate otherwise.
Sometimes it is better to listen and understand, then go back and
review my notes, than to spend your time jotting down everything that I
say.
Work and Grading:
Grades
will be based on homework, an exam, and course projects/presentations,
as follows:
Homework (50%):
Homework will be lots of problem-solving. It is designed to make you
use your brain until you can't think anymore, and then some! Hopefully,
some of the stuff will stick (and this is what will be on the Comps I
exam next year!). There will be one assignment for each Chapter, more
or less, and the problems are of varying difficulty. You are encouraged
to work together
with your classmates to formulate approaches to the homework problems,
but please turn in your own work.
If you haven't completed an entire assignment, turn in what you can on
time for full credit - you'll just have to take your chances on what
you turn in late, as I will post answers to all assignments shortly
after they are due. Since I hand out answers, I won't write lots of
comments on your papers, so please ask me if you have any questions!
From experience, students who do all the homework on time usually do
very well in my classes (A or A-). Those who slog along (slog:
To walk or progress with a slow heavy
pace; plod) usually do much
worse (B or lower). So if you plan on slogging, please take along a
guide!
Exam (25%): One exam
will cover the material from the first 5 chapters of the book. It will
be based primarily on homework.
Project/presentation (25%):
Pick a remotely sensed data product (past, present, or future) that
interests you. (1) Discuss the main principle behind the measurement.
(2) Discuss the main characteristics of the observation strategy. (3)
Discuss other potential ways to measure the same properties and why
this method is preferred. (4) Show some results (real or expected). (5)
Present the salient points of your project to the class (oral and via
development of web pages with pretty pictures!). If you work in the
area of remote sensing, please pick something that isn't your
particular area of expertise.
Expectations:
Participate
and interact: I like to have an interactive classroom. I find it
terribly
boring to talk at students for a whole class period, and I can recall
how
dull it is for students to be lectured at (remember, I am horribly
insecure!). So, I will ask questions of
the class; we’ll work on problems; I'll probably call on you
from time
to time. Please participate! Note that civility and cooperation
are
essential elements in the classroom. This means encouraging one another
during discussions and working together on problems.
Policies:
(the CU boiler plate stuff!)
If
you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit
to
me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your
needs
may be addressed. Disability
Services determines accommodations based on documented
disabilities.
(303-492-8671, Willard 322)
Please
inform the instructor if you observe religious holidays and may miss
class
of scheduled exam dates. Alternative arrangements will be made in such
cases. Campus policies can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html
It
should go without saying that dishonesty will not be tolerated. Your
work
on assignments and exams must be your own. Cheating in any form will
not
be tolerated and will be dealt with according to the rules of the
College
of Arts and Sciences. You are also encouraged to view the new honor
code
information at www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/
Schedule
(I said it looks ambitious!)
Week 3 (Jan 27/29) - Spectroscopy
and
Radiative Transfer
(Chapter 3, p 81-115)
Week 4 (Feb 3/5) -
Absorbers and
Spectrometers (Chapter 3, p
115-142)
Week 5
(Feb 10/12) - Finish Chapter 3
Week 7 (Feb 24/26)
Macroscopic Properties (con't)
Week 8
(Mar 2) Intro
to Scattering (Chapter 5, p
190-260)
Week 9
(Mar 9/11) Scattering (Con't)
Week 10 (Mar 16/18) Sensing
by Scattering (Chapter
6, p 261-327)
Week 11
- Spring Break
Week 12
(Mar 30/Apr 1) Sensing by
Scattering (cont)
Week
13 (Apr 6/8) Sensing by Absorption and Emission (Chapter 7, p 328-394)
Week 14 (Apr 13/15) Applications
Week 15 (Apr 20/22) More Sensing by
Emission and Introduction
to Active
Sensing (Chapter
8,
p 395-465)
Week 16 (Apr 27/29) -
Presentations