Geomicrobiology (3 cr) G-690 is designed as an introduction to
microbiology for graduate students with diverse backgrounds but shared
researchinterests in biogeochemistry, ground-water microbiology,
extremophile ecosystems, astrobiology, and origins of life.  The first
six weeks will focus on textbook readings with supporting lectures on
microbial classification, growth, metabolism and genetics in order to
build a conceptual framework and a technical vocabulary.  The second
six weeks will incorporate discussions into lecture topics based on
recent journal articles.  The final two weeks will be reserved for
student presentations. There will be two mid-term exams (30% each) and
a three-page executive summary supported by an annotated bibliography
with a minimum of 20 journal references (20%)  Each student will
present a 30-minute oral summary (20%) of their term paper.