U13.107 Environmental Geology and Energy
This course covers the basics of environmental geology with a focus on the impacts of energy use and generation. Issues such as nuclear power, the burning of fossil fuels, climate change, New Madrid seismic zone earthquake hazards, nuclear waste and radioactive contamination in the St. Louis area are very heated, controversial issues. Choices of how to address these issues have health and safety aspects, in addition to economic costs. This course examines the science underlying these important issues; in particular, the interface between science and public policy. The course will help students separate fiction from fact. The topics covered include climate change, air pollution, fossil fuels, nuclear power, alternative energy sources, nuclear waste disposal, the Oklo natural uranium fission reactor, earthquakes, volcanic hazards, and health effects of radiation and chemical hazards.
U74.125 The Curious Cook: Science of Food
This course examines the science underlying cooking and health aspects of food. Why do people crave some foods and find other food repulsive? How can food be made to be more appetizing? What is the interplay among taste, flavor and texture? How does the choice of cookware affect the dish one is making? Is the expensive copper pan better than the humble cast iron pan? How can food be a pathway for toxins, pathogens and radiation? Why do some milk products curdle in sauces and dishes, but not others? Why do different foods degrade differently when frozen? What are GMOs? What is CRISPR? What causes meat to be overcooked? How can green vegetables be cooked without losing the bright green color? What is chronic wasting disease? What are the differences between yeast breads and quick breads? Does alcohol really evaporate away when used in cooling? The textbook is On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee, 2004 edition. Grading is based on three exams and several pass/fail oral reports on outside readings and an at home science experiment.
U74.127 Modernist Cuisine
This course covers the science of Modernist Cuisine, otherwise known as Molecular Gastronomy. Traditional cuisine relies on a standard canon of recipes and techniques. Modernist cuisine, on the other hand, includes non-traditional equipment, procedures, ingredients and techniques to create unconventional food, such as liquid nitrogen ice cream, along with more reproducible ways to cook conventional food.
U74.130 Forensic Science for Non-Science majors
Science has an important role in identifying criminals and in homeland security. This course includes case studies where forensic science has identified the actual criminals or set the wrongly convicted free. The use of DNA caused an upheaval in forensic science, which should reduce the number of executions of innocent people. There is a big push to identify wrongful convictions based on the misapplication of forensic science. Why is arson investigation being overhauled? How can deaths by polonium poisoning be identified? How can counterfeit money be detected? How can the country of origin of a skeleton be determined? How do scientists distinguish a nuclear weapon explosion from a nuclear power plant accident?
U74.175 Fakebusters: Scientific Authentication of Art Objects and Artifacts
Forgeries are a tremendous problem in art and archaeology. This course looks at case studies of forgeries and the ways that scientists detect them. Case studies examined include the Vinland Map, Piltdown Man, ceramic forgeries at the St. Louis Art Museum, the Getty Kuoros, the Shroud of Turin, and the Metropolitan Bronze Horse, among others.