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Basic physics of high energy radiation processes in an astrophysics environment. Cosmic ray production and propagation. Applications selected from pulsars, x-ray sources, supernovae, interstellar medium, extragalactic radio sources, quasars, and big-bang cosmologies.
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In addition to introducing first-year graduate students and anyone interested to research opportunities with Astronomy faculty and research staff, this class discusses a wide variety of "meta" topics, e.g., how to choose a research advisor, what constitutes a competitive PhD thesis, and standards for ethical behavior in the workplace. Nuts-and-bolts topics such as good programming practices and popular software tools…
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The physical foundations of planetary sciences. Topics include planetary interiors and surfaces, planetary atmospheres and magnetospheres, and smaller bodies in our solar system. The physical processes at work are developed in some detail, and an evolutionary picture for our solar system, and each class of objects, is developed. Some discussion of other (potential) planetary systems is also included.