Teaching
My teaching focuses on developing analytical and computing skills to help students at multiple levels tackle a variety of complex research problems. I have developed numerous resources to help students become quickly familiar with a variety of programming tools designed to help make scientific data analysis tasks accurate, reproducible, and efficient. I also highlight methods for studying earthquakes in a quantitative fashion using analytical and numerical methods, and have created a seminar focusing on the multitude of ways that scientists study complex systems of faults. My teaching highlights the societal impact of my scientific research by examining the historical impact of earthquakes and how societies can best prepare for future earthquakes and manage the risks inherent in living in earthquake-prone areas.
Specific courses that I have developed or significantly revised are described below:
Data Analysis in Geophysics
Earthquake Source Physics
Seminar in Earthquake System Science
Earthquake Risk in the New Madrid Seismic Zone: Past, Present, and Future
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Data Analysis in Geophysics
This course focuses on developing the computer tools needed to carry out complex scientific data analysis tasks. We cover a variety of analysis tools, including the Unix Shell, Python, Matlab, Seismic Analysis Code, AWK, and Generic Mapping Tools. The course focuses on programming style and writing programs that automate data processing tasks. A major focus of the course is on ensuring that science is conducted in an accurate, reproducible, and efficient manner when performing tasks on a computer when results cannot be checked by hand. While much of the focus is on geophysical problems, the content is aimed at a wide scientific audience and many engineering students have enrolled in the course.This course has an extensive set of notes that are available online, including an html and pdf version.
More on the current offering of this course can be found on the course webpage.
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Earthquake Source Physics
This course develops the tools for quantitative study of earthquakes and faulting. We cover kinematic dislocation models of earthquakes, elastodynamics including common models for friction and fracture, and earthquake ground motions in the near source region. The course develops both analytical and numerical methods for studying earthquakes using continuum mechanics. A final project focuses on carrying out a complex earthquake rupture simulation of a SCEC benchmark problem using the instructor's research-level earthquake simulation code.A syllabus for a past version of the course is available here.
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Seminar in Earthquake System Science
This seminar focuses on current topics in earthquake science through reading and discussing the primary scientific literature. We cover six broad themes in studying and understanding earthquake effects: Earth and Fault Structure (S), Strain Accumulation and Earthquake Rates (A), Fault Monitoring (M), Earthquake Interactions (I), Physics-Based Modeling (P), and Forecasting (F). Students lead discussions on current research questions, and develop the skills needed to quickly understand and synthesize the results of research papers and talks.A syllabus for a past version of the course is available here.
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Earthquake Risk in the New Madrid Seismic Zone: Past, Present, and Future
This course is taught as part of the Honors Forum for first year students at the Helen Hardin Honors College, and focuses on the societal impact of large earthquakes. The New Madrid Seismic Zone poses earthquake risk to a large region in the Mid-South, including major cities such as Memphis and St. Louis. This course will examine earthquakes in the region from a historical, scientific, and preparedness perspective. We will first study the 1811-1812 earthquakes, which caused immense, widespread shaking, reshaped the local terrain, and played a significant role in the westward expansion of the United States. We will then cover how scientists estimate earthquake risk based on present day studies, as well as the potential to use short-term risk assessments such as earthquake prediction and earthquake early warning. Finally, we will discuss how society can best plan for and mitigate risk from earthquakes and other natural disasters.A syllabus for a past version of the course is available here.