GSIPM

Each course to be 15 hours (1 unit), meeting 9-12 AM Monday-Friday, weeks starting January 4 and January 11.

Biographical Sketch

Richard Wolfson is Benjamin F. Wissler Professor of Physics at Middlebury College, where he also teaches in the Environmental Studies Program.  He is the author of numerous research papers, several video courses for general audiences, and six books—among them Energy Environment and Climate (W.W. Norton) and Nuclear Choices: A Citizen’s Guide to Nuclear Technology (MIT Press).

Introduction to the Science of Climate Change

Anthropogenic climate change is the global environmental issue of the twenty-first century.  Policymakers will increasingly find themselves dealing with climate change, including mitigation of human influence on climate, adaptation to inevitable climate change, and international policy questions relating to this global problem.  Although details of future climate are uncertain, the fact of anthropogenic climate change rests on a firm scientific basis.  This course introduces that science at a level appropriate to students of international environmental policy who do not necessarily bring a scientific background to their studies.  Major topics covered include the energy flows that establish Earth’s climate, the role of humankind in altering climate, what we know from past climates, and how we model climate futures.  The course includes quantitative work, appropriate to students who have had high-school algebra, as well as simple computer-based climate modeling.

The Nuclear Difference: Nuclear Science for Policymakers

Why is it that nuclear weapons have given humankind a totally unprecedented level of destructive potential?  Why is nuclear-weapons technology spreading despite our best efforts to stop it?  What policies can help reduce the threat from nuclear weapons?  The answers lie, fundamentally, in the science of the atomic nucleus.  The “nuclear difference” is the million-fold difference between the energy bound in the nucleus versus that of everyday chemical reactions.  The potential for nuclear proliferation—and our hope of slowing it—lies in subtle properties of the elements uranium and plutonium.  This course introduces basic nuclear science at a level appropriate to students of nonproliferation policy who do not necessarily bring a scientific background to their studies.  After the appropriate background is established, the course will emphasize issues of uranium enrichment and plutonium production, as well as connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons.