Geological Engineering Courses
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. Graded pass/fail.
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. Laboratory fee: $15.00. (Prerequisite:
Geology, science, or engineering majors, or permission of instructor.)
GE 365 (3 Credits) Fall
Geological Engineering I (3+0)
Geological and geotechnical factors for the solution of engineering
problems. Special emphasis on soils and permafrost. Some fieldwork and student
report. (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/GEOS 261 and 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
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 321
and GEOS 332 or equivalent.)
GE 382W (4 Credits) Summer
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 321
and GEOS 332 or equivalent.)
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 200 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/GEOS 261 and 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 and ES 331. Next offered: 1997-98.)
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 214 and
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 or permission of instructor. Next offered: 1997-98.)
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: GEOS 101 or GE/GEOS 261, 408, PHYS 212.)
GE 480W (3 Credits) Spring
Geological Engineering II (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 630 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Advanced Applied Mining Geology (2+3)
Investigative procedures used in mining geology from preproduction to
terminal phases of an operation. Models ranging from open-pit to deep
underground mining will be examined. Methods of mapping, sampling, on-going
evaluation, and geotechnical aspects of water and ground control are examined.
(Prerequisites: GE 435, GEOS 432, and GEOS 432L.)
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: MPR
418B.)
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)
(Same as 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)
(Same as EQE 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. (Prerequisites: Graduate
standing in geological engineering 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 and 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.)