Geological Engineering
GE 101 1 Credit
Introduction to Geological Engineering
Multiple aspects of geological engineering as a profession; the area and scope of the field. (1+0) Offered Fall
GE 261 3 Credits
General Geology for Engineers
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.) (2+3) Offered Spring
GE 365 3 Credits
Geological Materials Engineering
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 101X or GE 261 and ES 208 or 209.) (2+3) Offered Fall
GE 372 3 Credits
Rock Engineering
Rock engineering related to tunnels, slope design and strata control. Some field work and student report. (Prerequisites: GEOS 101X or GE 261; ES 208 or 209.) (3+0) Offered Spring
GE 375 3 Credits
Principles of Engineering Geology and Terrain Analysis
Evaluation of terrain characteristics using basic geomorphic and engineering principles. Consideration given to Alaskan applications. (Prerequisite: GEOS 101X or GE 261.) (3+0) Offered Fall
GE 376 3 Credits
GIS Applications in Geological and Environmental Engineering
Fundamentals, concepts and components of geographic information systems (GIS) to engineering design. Introduction to acquiring, manipulating and analyzing digital terrain data for geological engineering and environmental applications, and the assessment to mineral resources. (Prerequisite: GE 261 or equivalent. Recommended: NRM 338. Note: Group projects on path and site selection for engineering projects are required.) (2+3) Offered Spring
GE 378 3 Credits
(Crosslisted with GEOS 378)
Introduction to Geoinformatics
A multidisciplinary course providing theoetical understanding and hands-on experience with acquiring field data using palmtops and hand-held GPS; processing of remote sensing data acquired from airplanes and satellites; concept of data integration in GIS mode; database management; cartographic visualization of final product. (Prerequisite: PHYS 103X or PHYS 211X or permission of instructor.) (2+3) Offered Spring
GE 381W 2 Credits
Field Methods and Applied Design I
Techniques and geologic mapping and geotechnical instrumentation applied to engineering design and resource evaluation. (Prerequisites: ENGL 111X; ENGL 212X or ENGL 213X or permission of instructor; GE 261, GEOS 421 and GEOS 332 or equivalent.) (0+9+3) Offered Summer, As Demand Warrants
GE 382W 4 Credits
Field Methods and Applied Design II
Techniques and geologic mapping and geotechnical instrumentation applied to engineering design and resource evaluation. (Prerequisites: ENGL 111X; ENGL 212X or ENGL 213X or permission of instructor; GE 261, GEOS 421 and GEOS 332 or equivalent.) (0+9) Offered Summer, As Demand Warrants
GE 384 4 Credits
Engineering Geology of Alaska
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.) (3+1+2) Offered Summer, As Demand Warrants
GE 400 1--3 Credits
Geological Engineering Internship
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.) (1--3+0) Offered As Demand Warrants
GE 405 4 Credits
Exploration Geophysics
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.) (3+3) Offered Fall
GE 420 3 Credits
Subsurface Hydrology
Hydrologic, geologic and other factors controlling groundwater flow, occurrence, development, chemistry and contamination. Elementary groundwater flow theory. Interactions between surface-subsurface hydrologic systems. Hydraulic characteristics of earth materials, engineering problems and models related to subsurface fluids, and properties of water. (Prerequisites: GE 261; PHYS 211; MATH 302.) (2+3) Offered Spring
GE 422 3 Credits
Vadose Zone Hydrology
Fundamentals of flow and transport in the vadose zone, including multiphase flow. Methods for characterization of hydraulic properties. Vadose zone processes relative to ground water contamination. (Prerequisites: GE 420 or equivalent; or permission of instructor.) (3+0) Offered Spring
GE 430 3 Credits
Geomechanical Instrumentation
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 101X; ES 331. Next offered: 2005--06.) (3+0) Offered Alternate Fall
GE 431 2 Credits
Applied Ore Microscopy
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.) (3+1) Offered Alternate Fall
GE 435 3 Credits
Exploration Design
Geologic, engineering and economic considerations applied to the design and development of mineral exploration programs. (Prerequisites: GEOS 314 or permission of instructor.) (3+0) Offered Spring
GE 440 3 Credits
Slope Stability
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: 2005--06.) (3+0) Offered Alternate Spring
GE 441 3 Credits
Geohazard Analysis
Procedures and techniques to evaluate geological factors for geohazards. Includes landslides, earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding, coastal hazards and permafrost related problems. (Prerequisite: GE 365, equivalent, or permission of instructor.) (3+0) Offered Fall
GE 471 3 Credits
Remote Sensing for Engineering
Applications of remote sensing to geological engineering problems. Introduction to digital satellite image processing with hands-on practice. (Prerequisites: GE 261 or GEOS 101X; PHYS 212X.) (3+0) Offered Fall
GE 480W 3 Credits
Senior Design
Design factors and procedures for the solution of geological engineering problems. A term design-project is the focus of the course. (Prerequisite: ENGL 111X; ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X; Senior standing or permission of instructor.) (1+6) Offered Spring
GE 620 3 Credits
Advanced Groundwater Hydrology
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.) (3+0) Offered Fall
GE 630 3 Credits
Advanced Applied Mining Geology
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.) (2+3) Offered Alternate Fall
GE 631 3 Credits
Electron Microprobe Methods
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.) (2+3) Offered Spring
GE 633 3 Credits
Fluid Inclusion Methods in Mineral and Petroleum Exploration
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.) (2+3) Offered Fall
GE 635 3 Credits
Geostatistical Ore Reserve Estimation
(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.) (2+3) Offered Spring
GE 649 3 Credits
Hazardous and Toxic Waste Management
(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. (Recommended: Bachelor's degree in science or engineering.) (3+0) Offered Alternate Fall
GE 666 3 Credits
Advanced Engineering Geology
The interaction between geology and engineering case histories, student reports. (Prerequisites: Graduate standing, GE 365 and GE 372 or permission of instructor.) (2+3) Offered Alternate Fall
GE 668 3 Credits
Tunneling Geotechniques
Tunnel design, case histories, student report. (Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of instructor.) (3+0) Offered Alternate Spring
GE 671 3 Credits
Engineering Application of Digital Image Processing
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.) (2+3) Offered Alternate Spring
GE 692 1 Credit
Graduate Seminar
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.) (1+0) Offered Fall, Spring