The School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology has recently initiated a B.S. degree to provide a technically rigorous education for the next generation of earth and atmospheric scientists. One major goal of this program is to prepare majors for careers in a variety of environmental fields. We have designed a core and capstone course, Environmental Field Study, around the following criteria: (1) it will deal directly with the natural world and real environmental problems; (2) it will demonstrate and reinforce scientific principles learned in formal course work; (3) it will stress individual and/or team investigations; (4) equipment and procedures will be comparable to those likely to be encountered by students during their careers; (5) it will utilize the expertise of professionals in the field; and (6) students will take initiative in all aspects of the projects, from problem recognition to publication of findings. Funds will be used to purchase a ground penetrating radar system and a terrain conductivity system to be used in undergraduate laboratory and field courses which will enable us to fulfill these goals.
