AOSC 818:
Frontiers in Atmosphere, Ocean, Climate, and Synoptic Meteorology Research
Fall 2011
Course Description:
Exposure to a wide range of contemporary topics in atmospheric, oceanic, and climate sciences through the weekly seminars on atmospheric, oceanic, and climate sciences for
  development of research interests
  promption of critical thinking
Foster effective interaction and collaboration with leading scientists and fellow students through the Meet-the-Speaker session after the semiminar
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
Preferred, but not strictly required, prerequisite: Atmospheric, oceanic, and/or climate sciences background.
Grading and Policy:
1 credit based on
  Weekly activities (seminar, Meet-the-Speaker session, and report)
  Special assignments, if any
  Term presentation & final report
As part of training, students are expected to be respondsible. It is student's responsibility to let the instructor know if student cannot participate in or complete the activities.
  For each missing seminar, a make-up will be assigned.
  After the third late report, a make-up will be assigned for each late report.
  Incomplete activites without the instructor's permission will result in a non-passing grade.
Students are responsible for checking the UMD Honor code.
Seminar Schedule
Seminar Information
Speaker, title, and abstracts are available from AOSC Seminar Series
Time and Location
Th 3:00-3:30pm [CSS 2400 (Atrium)] Pre-seminar refreshment
Th 3:30-4:30pm [CSS 2400 (Auditorium)] Seminar
Th 4:45-5:15pm [CSS 4301 (IPST)] Meet the Speaker
Course Activities:
Course meetings:
Th 3:20pm, September 8, 2011 [CSS 2400 (Atrium)] Organizational meeting
Th 3:30pm, Octoer 27, 2011 [AOSC Library] Library clean-up & renovation
Th 3:20pm, November 3, 2011 [CSS 2400 (Atrium)] Mid-term meeting
Th, Decemeber 8, 2011 [CSS 4301 (IPST)] Term Presentation
Initial Individual Meetings:
Individual brief "Meet-the-Instructor" session during the first two weeks.
Weekly seminars:
Preparation by reading
  Abstract whenever available (AOSC Seminar page);
  Speaker information (usually distributed by the Student Seminar Committee)
Attendance and participation (seminar & Meet-the-Speaker session)
  Learn the subject;
  Get experience for interacting with leading scientists, in particular by active participation in the Meet-the-Speaker session.
Report due by 5pm, Fr. of the week, containing
  Self-report on attendance (seminar & Meet-the-Speaker session);
  Concise discussion of the seminar and the meeting (min: 1 paragraph; max: 2pages)
Please make sure your report gets your point across.
Whenever possible, the presentation will be posted after the seminar.
Special assignment:
For some seminars, speaker may request an assignment.
Term Presentation:
Logistics: Th December 8, 2011
Presentation style:
  Topic must be related to AOSC 818, otherwise open.
  Proposed topic should be consulted.
  Each presentation is 10min.
  Suggested time split: 8min talk + 2min Q & A.
  Questions to the speaker is highly encouraged; two people will be pre-assigned for questions on each talk.
  Presentation should contain at least
  Title slide;
  Motivation/introduction/background slide - why you chose the topic;
  Summary/conclusion slide;
  Citations, whenever possible & appropriate.
  By 10min prior to your own session, presentation file must be sent via email or hand-delivered on a USB stick.
Kayo Ide at UMD AOSC 818 Fall 2011