Are our diet and agricultural production methods sustainable? Students will investigate tensions created by trade-offs made by consumers relative to dietary choices which, in turn, can influence agricultural production methods. The course will inform students about their food supply so they can make informed dietary decisions and practice intentional/informed eating.

Study of the major components of Earth's climate system and climate change history. Discussion of 21st century climate change prediction, mitigation and adaptation efforts.

What are weather and climate? Most people think they know but if you ask people to explain the differences and similarities you're bound to get a range of answers. Weather affects not just our daily activities but other important aspects of society such as transportation, commerce, security and agriculture. Most people understand what weather is to some extent. Climate and climate change are concepts that evoke strong emotional responses from people but are less well understood. In this class, students examine fundamental issues such as the greenhouse effect, severe weather, and global weather patterns and how they relate to a changing climate. Instruction in the lectures will provide the basic knowledge needed to understand these issues. In the discussion sections, students will be divided into groups to address the implications of these topics through group projects.

Explore the ways and the degrees to which University of Maryland, College Park campus master planning and operations incorporate principles of sustainability including smart growth, LEED and other building rating systems, higher education rating systems, sustainable agriculture and transportation planning. Among other subjects, students will learn about the Campus and the City of College Park and survey the relationship between local, national and global sustainability concerns. Students will learn about the University's Climate Action Plan and the roles, and extent to which, the UMD Office of Sustainability and other campus units are helping develop a carbon-neutral and resource-efficient campus infrastructure.

An elementary course in descriptive astronomy, especially appropriate for non-science students. Topics include the Sun, Moon, planets, stars, and nebulae, galaxies, and evolution of the Universe.

Should we defend our planet against potential asteroid impacts? Collisions in Space will evaluate the threat of asteroid impacts with the Earth using knowledge of asteroid characteristics and orbits. The merits of possible defense plans will be discussed, as well as the budgetary and political concerns associated with implementing any such plan. Appropriate for non-science majors.

Have you ever wondered if humans will ever terraform Mars or Europa so we could live there without a spacesuit? Has it ever crossed your mind how lucky you are that you live on a water-rich planet with an oxygen-rich atmosphere? Have you ever suspected novelists and scriptwriters of creating ridiculous planets that violate scientific laws? Does the fate of our planet's thin biosphere keep you up at night? How common is life in the Universe? These are difficult questions, but armed with the right information, you can answer all of them. The Science and Fiction of Planetary Systems will help you develop a deeper understanding of why planets are the way they are. Along the way, you'll see examples of mistakes made in classic science fiction movies, novels and short stories and get the chance to invent your own plausible planets!

Designed primarily for non-science majors. Study of stars-types, properties, evolution, and distribution in space; supernovae, pulsars, and black holes.

Designed primarily for non-science majors. The structure of planets and of their atmospheres, the nature of comets, asteroids, and satellites. Comparison of various theories for the origin of the solar system. Emphasis on a description of recent data and interpretation.

Designed primarily for non-science majors. A study of our progression of knowledge about the universe. Topics include: early cosmological models, geocentric vs. heliocentric theory, curvature of space, Hubble's Law, Big Bang Theory, microwave background radiation, evolution of stars and galaxies, dark matter, active galaxies, quasars and the future of the universe.

Designed primarily for non-science majors. Study of the astronomical perspective on the conditions for the origin and existence of life in the universe.

A survey of the major groups of insects, their natural history, and their relationships with humans and their environment. Course not acceptable toward major requirements in Biological Sciences, Chemistry or Biochemistry.

Could the ongoing global decline in insect populations portend the end of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems? An article in the New York Times, in 2018, declared an "Insect Apocalypse" that for the first time brought the unexplained declines in insects to the public and suggested a catastrophe awaits our planet. Scientists have documented the loss of insect species at a rate exceeding the extinction rates associated with the major geological events in Earth's history. Based on science and research, students will be provided with background, and discover on their own, the diversity of the form and functions of insects, as well as how they evolved and persisted for 400 million years. The course, designed for students of any major, celebrates the incredible variation of insect life and what they do to support life on our planet. The course will highlight the use of scientific research to understand and respond to the global crisis.

Basic principles of biology with special emphasis on ecological and evolutionary biology.

Basic principles of biology with special emphasis on cellular and molecular biology.

How are microbes essential for human health yet cause so much disease? This course covers basic concepts in microbiology as they relate to human- microbe interactions by surveying the diversity of microbial life, the role our resident microbiota play in human health, modes of disease tracking, and prophylactic and therapeutic measures designed to control the spread of infectious disease.

An overview of the Periodic Table, inorganic substances, ionic and covalent bonding, bulk properties of materials, chemical equilibrium, and quantitative chemistry. CHEM131 is the first course in a four-semester sequence for students majoring in the sciences, other than Chemistry and Biochemistry majors.

The nature and composition of matter, solutions, chemical reactions, equilibria, and electrochemistry, with applications to various fields of engineering.

Can one prevent the transformation of technology from a friend to foe? Constant technological change characterizes our current lives and future, but ambivalence marks our relationships with technology. Students will be introduced to concepts necessary to understand scientific, engineering and societal driving forces of selected technological transformations, and the conflicts inherent in introduction of new technologies. We investigate approaches to judicious implementation of technology to prevent it changing from friend to foe.

Examines how humans are affected by the quality of our air, water, soil and food supply as well as how human activities alter these survival necessities. Students will learn how the evolution and prosperity of human populations have resulted in degradation of our environment and the impact of environmental degradation on the health of people. The implications of individual and collective choices for sustainable food production, population management, and resource utilization will be explored.

Catastrophic Environmental Events (CCE) that are becoming more common in this time of global environmental change and it is essential that today's students be equipped with the knowledge and skills to be leaders as we, as a society, understand the upheaval that these CCEs are causing. Students will examine how CEEs shape human society and ecosystem from the interdisciplinary perspective afforded by the field of Geography. Students will use the latest geographic science concepts and techniques in exploring these events. Using satellite imagery they will gain a multi-scale perspective of the ecological and societal aspects of the events.

Earth observations from space enable the mapping and monitoring of our changing planet. This survey course reviews current observational capabilities and examines scientific applications in quantifying global environmental change. Drivers and outcomes of key dynamics will be illustrated and discussed, including sea and continental ice loss, deforestation, ocean warming, urbanization, agricultural expansion and intensification, and vegetation response to climate change.

A general survey of the rocks and minerals composing the earth, its surface features and the agents that form them, and the dynamic forces of plate tectonics.

A review of geologic factors underlying many environmental problems and the interactions between population and physical environment: geologic hazards, land-use planning, conservation, mineral resources, waste disposal, land reclamation, and the geologic aspects of health and disease. The course is aimed at lower division students in education and liberal arts, and should be useful to any student concerned with geologic perspectives of environmental problems.

Study of the major components of Earth's climate system and climate change history. Discussion of 21st century climate change prediction, mitigation and adaptation efforts.

What good is the fossil record? What relevance or insights might the remains of ancient living things have for our modern world? This course examines how the record of ancient life was made, and how we use diverse scientific techniques to reveal the information it contains. We will look at how the various inhabitants of our planet changed through time, and how different ecosystems such as reefs, forests, and grasslands were assembled. We will see how our own species came to be, and of our spread across the world from our ancestral home in Africa. We'll examine how the fossil record contains evidence of climate changes and extinction events far exceeding what we are currently experiencing, and how we can use these as warnings for our future. We'll address who are the owners and stakeholders in the evidence of the fossil world. Students will learn how to read and interpret the primary scientific literature, and how to present scientific information to others through various media.

Although seldom mentioned in the grand narratives of war, culture, and technology, plants have profoundly influenced the course of human history. Plant domestication and human civilization have been co-evolving ever since the origins of agriculture. This perspective leads to a number of provocative multidisciplinary questions: How did certain cereal grasses and legumes civilize a nomadic hunting-and-gathering primate at a few advantageous locations? How did the cultivation of sugar, tobacco, and cotton affect the colonization and exploitation of the world? What roles did tea, coffee, opium, rubber, and quinine play in the spread, economics, and military actions of the British Empire? Students will apply their appreciation of historical human-plant dynamics to address such contemporary challenges as global climate change, genetic engineering, biodiversity, industrial agriculture vs. sustainable stewardship, and the use of indigenous medicinals in modern cultures.

Course details (1) the public health importance of and the processes underlying cardiovascular disease, (2) the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and the methods whereby they were identified, and (3) the principles of the scientific evidence supporting the use of physical activity to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Examines the nature of mental representation of language in the physiology of the mind/brain, how it evolved, how it emerges in learners' minds, and how it decays through injury and illness. Insights from linguistics, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, animal behavior, molecular biology, and biophysics are brought to bear on how an abstract systematic behavior can arise within an animal brain.

In an evolutionary sense, the job of the nervous system is to produce, control, and coordinate behaviors that help an animal survive and reproduce. Neuroscience is the study of how the nervous system does that. Provides a broad introduction to neuroscience, always keeping the behavioral consequences in view.

Fundamentals of human nutrition. Nutrient requirements related to changing individual and family needs.

Advances in quantum information science and engineering (QISE), particularly quantum computing, have the potential to significantly disrupt and change the day-to-day lives of every person. In this course, we'll learn about the confluence of engineering, physics, and computer science that make this field so promising and develop tools to make sense of the scientific, societal, and ethical implications of these emerging technologies. Students will study, in depth, applications of QISE that are of particular and personal interest to share with others how they envision navigating a facet of day-to-day life that has been disrupted by advances in QISE. No prior background in STEM required. This course is only open to non-STEM majors.

First semester of a three-semester calculus-based general physics course. Laws of motion, force, and energy; principles of mechanics, collisions, linear momentum, rotation, and gravitation.

First semester of a three semester sequence for physics majors and those desiring a rigorous preparation in the physical sciences: kinematics, Newton's laws, energy and work, linear and angular momenta.

First semester of a three semester sequence for physics majors and those desiring a rigorous preparation in the physical sciences: kinematics, Newton's laws, energy and work, linear and angular momenta.

Second semester of a calculus based general physics course. Universal gravitation, electric and magnetic fields and potentials, simple circuits, Maxwell's equations in integral form. Continues the application of mathematics to conceptual models, now with more abstract components.

Second semester of a calculus based general physics course. Universal gravitation, electric and magnetic fields and potentials, simple circuits, Maxwell's equations in integral form. Continues the application of mathematics to conceptual models, now with more abstract components.

An overview to the art and science of horticulture. Relationships between plant science and plant production, the use of horticultural plants and plant stress as influenced by cultural practices.

An introduction to the global food system and its agricultural, biophysical, and socioeconomic domains. The problems and potentials for increasing world food supply based on current agronomic knowledge. Emphasis on international aspects of food crop production as its interrelationships with people and the environment in the developing world.

A basic introductory course intended to bring the student into contact with the major problems confronting psychology and the more important attempts at their solution.

Biological Psychology is the study of the physiological basis of behavior. In this course, we will first cover the basic principles of brain organization and neural transmission. We will then introduce traditional and modern research techniques in the field of behavioral neuroscience. The last portion of the course focuses on specific topics including psychopharmacology, learning and memory, emotion, stress, drug of abuse, neurological disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease) and schizophrenia.