Mark K Reagan
Teaching
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Mark Reagan © 2008
Classes taught at the University of Iowa (since 2005)
12:041 Mineralogy
12:116 Field TripI team teach this introductory class for the geoscience major every Fall semester. The goal of the course is for students to learn to recognize and understand the origin of minerals, which are the building blocks of nearly all geological materials. Students learn to identify approximately 100 of the most common minerals using a few simple field tests, a hand-lens, and a petrographic microscope. Students also learn where minerals are found, how they associate with each other and their economic value.
next offered: Fall 2008
This course rotates between several faculty members and is taught each Spring. I last taught in 2005. Each Spring Break, the course participants trave to an area of geologic interest, such as Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, the Grand Canyon (Arizona), Puerto Rico, Rio Grande Rift (New Mexico), Death Valley (California, Nevada), the Appalachian Mountains (Virginia), and China. The field trip is preceded by weekly discussions of destination's geology and postdated by a summary class.
next offered: Spring 2009
12:152 Isotope Geochemistry
I team teach this class with Jeff Dorale. This course covers the basic principles of radioactive decay and isotope fractionation for most of the isotopic systems utilized in the Earth sciences. We focus on the application of radiogenic and stable isotope systems to address geochronological, geological, and environmental problems. It is taught every Spring semester. We cover all major isotopic systems and their applications for geochronology and tracing mass movements through different earth systems.
next offered: Spring 2009
12:141 Analytical Methods
I team teach this class with David Peate and Jeff Dorale. It is suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate students. The first part of the course is devoted to learning the basic information about collecting and evaluating analytical data. It focuses on error analysis including assessing precision and accuracy. The second portion of the class focuses on learning how modern analytical instruments are used to analyze the compositions of geological materials. Each student chooses one of the following options for a class project: (1) collect and evaluate a new set of geochemical data for a senior or graduate thesis project, or (2) write up procedures for, and evaluate the precision and accuracy of, an already existing and substantial data set for your senior or graduate thesis. The project involved a 5-10 page paper report and a 15 min class presentation.
12:257 Tectonics and Petrology Seminar
This course is lead by a "hard-rock" faculty member, and is offered each each semester. I am teaching it this Fall (2008) with a topic of the origin of continental crust. The goal is to provide a forum for senior undergraduate, graduate students, and faculty to discuss topics of interest in Tectonics, Petrology and Geochemistry o. It is an opportunity for students to read and critique current literature, as well as to improve their presentation skills. The format of the class is a presentation of paper(s) ('PowerPoint' or overheads: 20-30 mins) by a student, followed by a discussion of the papers lead by the presenter: all students are expected to participate in the discussion.
next offered: Spring 2009 The theme will be: TBA