Geological Engineering
GE 101 (1 Credit) Fall
Introduction to Geological Engineering (1+0)
Multiple aspects of geological engineering as a profession; the area and scope of the field.
GE 261 (3 Credits) Spring
General Geology for Engineers (2+3)
Study of common rocks and minerals, landforms, erosion. Geologic materials and engineering application of geology. (Prerequisite: Geology, science, or engineering majors, or permission of instructor.)
GE 365 (3 Credits) Fall
Geological Materials Engineering (2+3)
Identification and classification of soils, physical and mechanical properties of soil, interaction of soils with subsurface water, subsurface exploration, and case studies with an emphasis on permafrost. (Prerequisites: GEOS 101 or GEOS/GE 261 and ES 208 or 209.)
GE 372 (3 Credits) Spring
Rock Engineering (3+0)
Rock engineering related to tunnels, slope design, and strata control. Some field work and student report. (Prerequisites: GEOS 101 or GE 261; ES 208 or 209.)
GE 375 (3 Credits) Fall
Principles of Engineering Geology and Terrain Analysis (3+0)
Evaluation of terrain characteristics using basic geomorphic and engineering principles. Consideration given to Alaskan applications. (Prerequisite: GEOS 101 or GE 261.)
GE 381W (2 Credits) Summer, As Demand Warrants
Field Methods and Applied Design I (0+9+3)
Techniques and geologic mapping and geotechnical instrumentation applied to engineering design and resource evaluation. (Prerequisites: GE 261, GEOS 421 and GEOS 332 or equivalent.)
GE 382W (4 Credits) Summer, As Demand Warrants
Field Methods and Applied Design II (0+9)
Techniques and geologic mapping and geotechnical instrumentation applied to engineering design and resource evaluation. (Prerequisites: GE 261, GEOS 421 and GEOS 332 or equivalent.)
GE 384 (4 Credits) Summer, As Demand Warrants
Engineering Geology of Alaska (3+1+2)
A survey of the geology of Alaska relevant to the definition of natural and human induced geological engineering hazards, the evaluation of sources of and specifications for engineering materials, and the evaluation of engineering construction sites. (Prerequisites: Admission by permission of instructor and upper division standing.)
GE 400 (1 - 3 Credits) Summer, As Demand Warrants
Geological Engineering Internship (1 - 3+0)
Supervised work experience in engineering organizations. Assignments will be individually arranged with cooperating organizations from the private and public sectors. A report of activities must be completed and reviewed by the sponsoring organization. The report may be held in confidence at the request of the sponsoring organization. (Prerequisites: Admission by permission of instructor and upper division standing.)
GE 405 (4 Credits) Fall
Exploration Geophysics (3+3)
Theory and application of gravity, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, radioactive, and seismic methods as used for geophysical exploration. Some field work. (Prerequisites: MATH 200X and PHYS 211 or equivalent.)
GE 420 (3 Credits) Spring
Subsurface Hydrology (2+3)
Hydraulic characteristics of earth materials, engineering problems and models related to subsurface fluids, and properties of water. (Prerequisites: GE 261 or GEOS 101; PHYS 211.)
GE 430 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Geomechanical Instrumentation (3+0)
Geomechanical instrumentation is widely used by the mining and construction industries as well as by researchers. Course topics include the measurement of groundwater pressure, ground deformation, stress, and temperature as well as the planning of monitoring programs, instrument calibration, maintenance, and installation, data collection, interpretation, and reporting. Case histories are used. (Prerequisites: GE 261 or GEOS 101; ES 331. Next offered: 2001 - 02.)
GE 431 (2 Credits) Alternate Fall
Applied Ore Microscopy (3+1)
Preparation of polished sections of ores. Identification of ore materials in reflected light by physical, optical and chemical methods. Applications to ore genesis, drill core interpretation, beneficiation and process control. (Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.)
GE 435 (3 Credits) Spring
Exploration Design (3+0)
Geologic, engineering, and economic considerations applied to the design and development of mineral exploration programs. (Prerequisites: GEOS 314 or permission of instructor.)
GE 440 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Slope Stability (3+0)
Slope design for open pit mining and other excavations. Stability analysis by various methods and on-site measuring and monitoring techniques. (Prerequisite: ES 331. Next offered: 2001 - 02.)
GE 471 (3 Credits) Fall
Remote Sensing for Engineering (3+0)
Applications of remote sensing to geological engineering problems. Introduction to digital satellite image processing with hands-on practice. (Prerequisites: GE 261 or GEOS 101; PHYS 212.)
GE 480W (3 Credits) Spring
Senior Design (1+6)
Design factors and procedures for the solution of geological engineering problems. A term design-project is the focus of the course. (Prerequisite: Senior standing or permission of instructor.)
GE 620 (3 Credits) Fall
Advanced Groundwater Hydrology (3+0)
Study of groundwater hydrology with emphasis on solute and contaminant transport, chemical reaction and ion exchange, advection and diffusion, and computer modeling. (Prerequisite: GE 420 or similar training in groundwater hydrology.)
GE 630 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Advanced Applied Mining Geology (2+3)
Investigative procedures used in mining geology from pre-production to terminal phases of an operation. Models ranging from open-pit to deep underground mining will be examined. Methods of mapping, sampling, ongoing evaluation, and geotechnical aspects of water and ground control are examined. (Prerequisite: GE 435.)
GE 631 (3 Credits) Spring
Electron Microprobe Methods (2+3)
Applications of electron microanalysis to mineralogy, petrology, and mineral exploration development, evaluation, and processing. Physics of x-rays, x-ray spectrometry, and measurement; qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis using wave length and energy dispersive spectra. (Prerequisite: Graduate standing.)
GE 633 (3 Credits) Fall
Fluid Inclusion Methods in Mineral and Petroleum Exploration (2+3)
Study of fluid inclusions in minerals. Thermodynamics, chemical and physical properties of fluids trapped in rock forming minerals or petroleum bearing rocks. Laboratory work includes sample preparation, thermometric and direct-current plasma emission spectrographic analysis. (Prerequisite: CHEM 331.)
GE 635 (3 Credits) Spring
Geostatistical Ore Reserve Estimation (2+3)
(Cross-listed with MIN 635)
Introduction to the theory and application of geostatistics in the mining industry. Review of conventional methods of ore reserve estimation, sampling design and computer applications. Review of classical statistics, log normal distributions and global estimation. Presentation of fundamental geostatistical concepts including: variogram, estimation variance, block variance, kriging, geostatistical simulation. Emphasis on the practical application to mining. (Prerequisites: MIN 408 or equivalent, STAT 451 or equivalent.)
GE 649 (3 Credits) Every Fifth Semester
Hazardous and Toxic Waste Management (3+0)
(Cross-listed with ENVE 649)
In-depth coverage of hazardous and toxic substance management including legal, economic, and technical issues; taught by an interdisciplinary faculty group using case studies of current waste management issues. Topics include characterization of hazardous materials; economics of toxics minimization; hazardous materials use, storage and disposal; technical aspects of landfill siting; and selection and design of treatment technologies. (Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor, GE 420 or CE 344 or equivalent.)
GE 666 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Advanced Engineering Geology (2+3)
The interaction between geology and engineering case histories, student reports. (Prerequisites: Graduate standing, GE 365 and GE 372 or permission of instructor.)
GE 668 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Tunneling Geotechniques (3+0)
Tunnel design, case histories, student report. (Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of instructor.)
GE 671 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Engineering Application of Digital Image Processing (2+3)
Quantitative methods of utilizing digital image processing and engineering information system. Applications include, but are not limited to, evaluation of the engineering properties of geo-materials, characterization of joint-surface conditions, enhancement of photoelastic stress patterns, and identification of critical slope failure surfaces. (Prerequisite: GE 471 or equivalent or permission of instructor.)
GE 692 (1 Credit) Fall, Spring
Graduate Seminar (1+0)
Topics in geological engineering explored through talks, group discussions, and guest speakers with a high level of student participation. (Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor.)