M/W 11:45-1:00 | 1104 Environment Hall
Instructor
John Fay3112 Environment Hall919 613 8718John.Fay@duke.eduOffice Hours: M, W 1:30-3:00 and by appointment
TAs
xSarah Deland (DUML): Sarah.Deland@duke.eduJill Hamilton (NSOE): Jill.Hamilton@duke.edu
Overview ENV 859 is a 3-credit laboratory based course intended for those using geospatial analysis in their research. The course covers a range of geospatial techniques and technologies that go beyond what is taught in the first year GIS courses (ENV 559 and ENV 761/765/787) and fulfills the requirement of a 3rd semester GIS course for the Certificate in Geospatial Analysis Certificate at the Nicholas School. The course is subject to revision each year as the technologies change and to meet student needs. Topics for the current semester will likely include:
The goals in examining these topics is not so much on becoming an expert in each, as that would require far more time than we have. Instead, the hope is to provide enough guidance and understanding on each so that students are able to pursue these topics in greater depth with little difficulty. In other words, this course is intended to teach students how to teach themselves various advanced techniques relating to spatial analysis.
Students are also required to complete a course project comprised of a fully documented and distributable geospatial analysis tool. Though not a requirement, students are encouraged to use this project as a component to their larger research interests.
Course Information This course is intended to be as hands-on as possible. We meet twice a week in the computer lab and spend, on average, 2 weeks (i.e., 4 sessions) on each topic. Material will be presented in the form of a series of tutorials (usually 2 or 3) followed by a problem set.
Each tutorial and the concepts it includes will be introduced in class and will be completed outside of class time. Students are welcome to work with others on completing the tutorials. Problem sets, however, should be done independently, though students are encouraged to seek the help of the instructor or teaching assistant, if needed. Problem sets should be completed within one week of being assigned.
As ENV 859 is designed for students using GIS in their research, each student ideally arrives with at least a general idea of how they will incorporate GIS into a research project. Some students will have a better idea of what they want to pursue than others so we will spend the first several weeks outlaying and refining your project's objectives, workflow, and deliverables throughout the course.
Grading
| Assignment | Pct. |
|---|---|
| Problem sets (x5) | 70% |
| Course project development | 5% |
| Course project | 25% |
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