Teaching

Spring 2015

ASTR 504/704: Cosmology
MWF 10:10am-11:00am, Phillips Hall 220
An introduction to modern cosmology: the study of the contents and evolution of the Universe. Covers expanding spacetime, the thermal history of the early Universe including nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background, the inflationary model for the origins of cosmic structure, and the growth of that structure through time.
ASTR 504 Prerequisites: ASTR 301, PHYS 301. Corequisite: PHYS 321
Syllabus (pdf)

Fall 2014

ASTR 301: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology
Section 1: Mondays 5:00pm-5:55pm, Phillips Hall 247
Section 2: Mondays 12:00pm-12:55pm, Phillips Hall 220
A one-credit-hour course complements ASTR 102 by covering the same material (the sun, stellar observables, star birth, evolution, and death, novae & supernovae, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, the Milky Way, normal galaxies, active galaxies and quasars, dark matter, dark energy, cosmology, and the early universe) at a more in-depth and quantitative level. The ASTR 301 problem sets will be similar in difficulty to the problem sets in an intermediate physics course. ASTR 301 is designed for students who intend to major or minor in astrophysics and serves as preparation for the upper level 500-series courses.
Corequisites: PHYS 117 and ASTR 102
Syllabus (pdf)

Spring 2014

ASTR 704: Cosmology
MWF 10:00-10:50, Phillips Hall 220
An introduction to modern cosmology: the study of the contents and evolution of the Universe. Covers expanding spacetime, the thermal history of the early Universe including nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background, the inflationary model for the origins of cosmic structure, and the growth of that structure through time.
Syllabus (pdf)

PHYS 391: Cosmology Section
MWF 10:00am-10:50am, Phillips Hall 220
Undergraduates interested in ASTR 704 should enroll in my section of PHYS 391. This course will cover the same material as ASTR 704, but the assignments will be shorter.
Prerequisites: ASTR 301, PHYS 301. Corequisite: PHYS 321