Learning about earth and planetary materials (minerals, rocks, and fluids) is fundamental as much for the understanding of observed properties as for the sustainable use and selection of raw materials. Are you interested in the challenges that we face as Earth citizens, but not sure how scientists answer Earth’s big questions in a small laboratory? In this course, we will tackle the big questions in little spaces and students will be introduced to how real labs answer questions involving the characterization of Earth and Planetary materials across scales of observations ¿ from the composition and structure of rocks building blocks to the flow, elastic, and magnetic properties of the whole-rock composite material. You will meet faculty working on a diverse array of problems, take tours of their laboratories, and be exposed to interactive activities to understand how observations in the laboratory are at the heart of scientific discovery. Open to all freshmen and sophomores across disciplines.

Instructors: Vanorio, T. (PI)