029:225 Fundamental Contributions in Plasma Physics, Space Physics, and Astrophysics
General Course Information
| Professor | Gregory Howes |
| Office | 505 Van Allen Hall |
| Phone | (319) 335-1221 |
| gregory-howes {at} uiowa dot edu | |
| Office Hours | Tuesday 1:30-2:30pm Wednesday 1-3pm or by appointment |
| Catalog Description | This discussion-based course will focus on reading of some of the seminal contributions to the scientific literature in plasma physics, space physics, and astrophysics. In addition to reading classic papers, reading and critiquing recent papers will help to develop a critical eye in reading the literature. Finally, the course will develop skills in performing efficient and thorough reviews of the literature. |
| Meeting | Tuesday and Thursday 12:15 pm - 1:30 pm, 358 Van Allen Hall (Note room change from 618 VAN) |
| Textbook | No required texts, all required reading can be obtained from University of Iowa Library subscriptions to electronic journals, or else will be made available to the class on the course website. |
| Grading | Grading for this course is Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) Reading, Attendance, and Participation: 65% Homework Assignments: 15% Final Project: 20% |
| Attendance | You will be allowed to miss up to 6 class meetings. If circumstances arise that require you to miss more than 6 meetings, you must justify your absences with the instructor. |
| Homework | Reading assignments must be completed before each class meeting. The assignments will be posted on the course website with at least one week notice. Please refer to the Course Calendar on the website for the topic for each class meeting and the current reading list. In addition to the Final Project, there will be three homework assignments over the course of the semester: (i) a literature search on a topic unfamiliar to you, (ii) in teams of two, leading the class discussion on the paper of the day, and (iii) an annotated bibliography with at least 10 references summarized as a preliminary step to completing your final project. |
| Final Project | The Final Project is a 5--10 page (not including the reference list) literature review on a topic of your choice (your thesis topic is an excellent choice), including a minimum of 20 references covered. |
| Topics | 1. Reading Fundamental Contributions in the Literature 2. Developing a Critical Eye for Reading 3. Learning Strategies for Effective Literature Reviews 4. Writing up Literature Reviews for Publication |