Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• CAS EE 585: Ecological Forecasting and Informatics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASBI 303 or BI 306; (CASMA 121 or MA 123) and (CASMA 115 or MA 213 or CASEE 375) or CDSDS 122; or consent of instructor. - The statistics and informatics of model-data fusion and forecasting: data management, workflows, Bayesian statistics, uncertainty analysis, fusing multiple data sources, assessing model performance, scenario development, decision analysis, and data assimilation. Case studies highlight ecological forecasting across a range of subdisciplines. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
• CAS EE 591: Bio-Optical Oceanography
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: admission to BUMP. - This field- and lab-based course will explore how the optically active constituents in seawater affect the in-water light field, and in turn, how field optics and remote sensing can facilitate the study of marine biogeochemistry, biological oceanography and water quality.
• CAS EE 593: Marine Physiology and Climate Change
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: BI 108 - Explores the range of physiological responses marine organisms exhibit in response to climate change. Investigates phenotypic plasticity exhibited across different organisms and how this plasticity can influence an organism's resilience to its changing environment.
• CAS EE 594: Global Environmental Negotiation and Policy
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Provides an overview of key actors, issues, and treaties in global environmental governance, paying particular attention to historical and contemporary differences in perspectives and interests of industrialized and developing countries. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry II.
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  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS EE 597: Development and Environment in Latin America
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: GE/EE 100 or IR 292 or IR 590 and junior standing, or consent of instr uctor - Provides an empirically based understanding of the social and environmental aspects of economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) for purposes of analyzing the numerous trade and development policies that nations in LAC are currently considering. Also offered as IR 597.
• CAS EE 599: Science, Politics, and Climate Change
  Applies a science and technology studies perspective to climate change science and policy, examining efforts to address sources and consequences of climate change at global, national, and local levels. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS EE 600: Environment and Development: A Political Ecology Approach
  Theory and practice of development with an explicit focus on environmental issues. Introduces history of development and the environment; explores select themes in development and environmental studies (e.g., rural livelihoods, conservation, urbanization, and climate change); and considers alternative development paradigms. Meet with EE 400.
• CAS EE 622: Aquatic Optics and Remote Sensing
  An introduction to the use of optical measurements and remote sensing to study the biogeochemistry and water quality of aquatic environments. Covers fundamental concepts and measurements in optics/remote sensing and provides hands-on experience with real data. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Quantitative Reasoning II, Research and Information Literacy.
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  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Research and Information Literacy
• CAS EE 623: Marine Biogeochemistry
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CH 101 and 102, admission to BUMP or EE 144, or consent of instructor - Nutrient and biogeochemical cycles in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems; global biogeochemistry. Topics include anthropogenic effects on ecosystem cycles and productivity, wetland ecology and biogeochemistry, ecosystem restoration, ocean productivity, climate change and temperate, tropical, and aquatic ecosystems, oceans and the global CO2 budget, marine sediment chemistry.
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  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Research and Information Literacy
• CAS EE 643: Terrestrial Biogeochemistry
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: BI 107 or ES/EE 105 or ES/EE 107, and CH 101/102; or consent of instru ctor - The patterns and processes controlling carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Links between local and global scales are emphasized. Topics include net primary production, nutrient use efficiency, and biogeochemical transformation. Meets with EE 443. Also offered as BI 643.
• CAS EE 644: Digital Image Processing - Remote Sensing
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASEE 302 or equivalent. At least introductory statistics (and preferably multivariate statistics) recommended. - This course pursues both the algorithms involved in processing remote sensing images and their application. Topics include preprocessing, image transformations, image classification and segmentation, spectral mixture analysis, and change detection. Examples cover a wide range of environmental applications of remote sensing. Students do a project.
• CAS EE 645: Physical Models in Remote Sensing
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: EE 302 or equivalent - Devoted to understanding the physical processes involved in remote sensing. Emphasis based on topics of radiative transfer in the atmosphere, at the surface, and in sensors. Reflectance modeling, advanced sensor systems, and geometric effects. A short research paper is required.
• CAS EE 646: Remote Sensing of the Lower Atmosphere
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: EE 302 and EE 310 or consent of instructor - Remote sensing has transformed the study of Earth's atmosphere. Learn the principles of retrieving meteorological parameters (humidity, temperature, precipitation) and key atmospheric constituents (clouds, greenhouse gases, aerosol) from satellite observations. Explore applications to climate change, disaster monitoring, and public health. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning II.
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  • Quantitative Reasoning II
• CAS EE 656: Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Carbon Cycle
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: EE 100 or 101, college level statistics (MA 113, MA 115, MA 213, or equivalent), and one of the following: BI 306, BI 443, or EE 530; or consent of instructor - Explores the past, present, and possible future dynamics of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Key topics include the physical climate system, variability, ecosystem processes, land use issues, and impacts of global change on society.
• CAS EE 660: Resource Economics and Policy
  Prereq: MA 121 or MA 123 or MA 124, or equivalent; EC 101 or equivalent; or consent of instructor *Economic and policy analysis of food, energy, and water, and the management of food, energy, water and land resources. Introduces resource economics and static and dynamic optimization as analytical frameworks for understanding the optimal management of scarcity, externalities, and impacts of environmental change on, and adaptation/vulnerability of, resource use. Meets with EE 460.
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  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS EE 683: Environmental and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: MA 123 or 127 or 129 and PY 211; or consent of instructor - Large- and small-scale phenomena in oceanic, atmospheric, and land-surface fluids. Properties of gases and liquids; surface body forces; statics; flow analysis; continuity and momentum conservation. Darcy's Law; potential, open channel and geostrophic flow; dimensional analysis; diffusion, turbulence.
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  • Critical Thinking
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Scientific Inquiry II
• CAS EE 712: Regional Energy Modeling
  Regional energy modeling techniques and existing regional energy models. Current energy issues are discussed. Modeling procedures are introduced. Current regional and energy models are explored.
• CAS EE 719: Colloquium in Biogeoscience
  The objective of this course is to introduce graduate students to the diversity of research being done in the field of biogeosciences. By participating in this seminar course, students will gain depth and breadth in their graduate education. The inclusion of distinguished- speaker seminars will not only expose students to some of the brightest minds in the field, but also help the students develop a professional network beyond that which they will gain at Boston University. Also offered as BI 719. 2 credits.
• CAS EE 720: Practicum in Biogeoscience
  Analysis and synthesis of the primary literature via in-depth case studies in biogeoscience. Students meet weekly with faculty to read papers from the primary literature, synthesize results, and prepare a peer-review quality paper on the case study. Also offered as BI 720. 2 credits.
• CAS EE 764: Urban Biogeoscience and Environmental Health Colloquium
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: priority is given to students enrolled in the BU Graduate Program in U rban Biogeoscience and Environmental Health. - Introduction to the fields of Biogeoscience and Environmental Health. Through weekly reading, discussions, and research presentations, students acquire a basic foundation in urban Biogeoscience and Environmental Health.