I am generally off from teaching each Spring semester. For the past five years, my Fall teaching assignment has been Physics 118 – Energy and Society. This is a gen. ed. course that is aimed at non-science majors.
The first part of the course covers the physics of energy in all its different forms. This is followed by sections on fossil fuels – resources, trends, environmental impacts; the greenhouse effect and climate change; nuclear power, and renewable energy technologies – primarily solar, wind and biofuels.
Energy is a great topic to teach about because it is constantly part of the news. I begin most classes with a couple of current news topics. In Fall 2011, major stories in the news were the downfall of Solyndra, the Keystone XL pipeline, the debate about hydrofracking and the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
As well as classic physics problem sets, students write three short papers on energy related topics – chosen from a list that includes technology, policy and international issues.
Here’s the latest edition of the syllabus. If you are interested in energy in the news. Some of my favorite sources are the New York Times’ Green blog, CNET’s Greentech blog and the online magazine Yale Environment 360
