Extraterrestrial Life Schedule
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UGS 303 | WEL 1.316 | Spring 2016 |
Instructor | Teaching Assistants | |||
Neal Evans | Mo (Emma) Yu | Matt Stevans | Rebecca Tippens | |
Office: | RLM 15.312A | RLM 15.310E | RLM 16.216 | RLM 17.308 |
Phone: | 471-4396 | 471-3387 | 471-0445 | 471-3415 |
Section: | MAI 220A | 8, 9, 10 | 11, 12, 1 | 2, 3, 4 |
Office Hours: | TBA | Th 11-12 | Tu 11-12 | M 1-2 |
EMAIL:
nje@astro.as.utexas.edu; moyu@astro.as.utexas.edu; stevans@astro.as.utexas.edu; rtippens@astro.as.utexas.edu
Website: http://www.as.utexas.edu/astronomy/education/spring16/evans/303.html
Schedule: Be sure to do the reading assignments before the class they are assigned for. Those who are prepared and ask questions or contribute to discussion will receive extra credit. If the scheduled office hours are not possible for you, we will make appointments for other times. Reading Assignments refer to chapters in the Class notes (Evans) or to the whole of the novel Contact by Carl Sagan. You should start reading Contact by about Spring Break, marking passages that discuss communications or travel ideas. Then review these before classes when those topics are discussed.
Date | Topic | Reading Assignments | Drake Equation Factor |
1/19 | Course Overview | 1 | |
1/21 | Origin of Elements | 2 | |
1/26 | Origin of Stars | 3A-3C | R* |
1/28 | Origin of Planets | 3D | fp |
2/2 | Nature of Solar Systems | 3E | |
2/4 | Habitable Planets | 3F | ne |
2/9 | Habitable Planets | 3F | |
2/11 | Test 1 (Ch. 1-3) | ||
2/16 | Nature of Life | 4A | |
2/18 | Origin of Life | 4B-C | fl |
2/23 | Origin of Life | 4D | |
2/25 | Alternatives | 4E-4G | |
3/1 | Life in Solar System | 5A-B | |
3/3 | Life in Solar System | 5C-D | |
3/8 | Test 2 (Ch. 4-5) | ||
3/10 | Biological Evolution | 6A | Paper topics due |
3/15 | Spring Break | Start Reading Contact | |
3/17 | Spring Break | ||
3/22 | Origin of Intelligence | 6B | fi |
3/24 | Cultural Evolution | 7A-B | fc, Paper outline, Para. 1 |
3/29 | Lifetime of Civilization | 7C | L |
3/31 | Future of Civilization | 7D | Paper due |
4/5 | Section Talks | Reports from sections | |
4/7 | More Talks, Drake Eq. | 8 | N, r |
4/12 | Test 3 (Ch. 6-7) | ||
4/14 | Communication | 9A-D | |
4/19 | Communication | 9E | Papers returned |
4/21 | Contact (Communication) | Contact | |
4/26 | Travel | 10A-B | Paper rewrite due |
4/28 | Visitations? | 10C | |
5/3 | Contact (Travel, Reactions) | Contact | Course evaluation |
5/5 | Test 4 (Ch. 8–10 & Contact) | This test is required |
13 January 2016
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