I noticed this blog doesn't say much about my work. Since I spend most of my time on-the-job, it seems I should say a few words about my activities as a professor and Fulbright Scholar. So here goes. (Recall that UCA-Khorog is two years old, accepts forty students per year, and offers only two majors).
First, I teach Introductory Physics to thirteen sophomore students who are majoring in Earth & Environmental Sciences (EES). Now everyone knows I'm not a physicist but in my defense, I've used basic physics principles throughout my geology career. It hasn't been difficult to formalize that knowledge and teach the class. Preparation is simple because UCA hired instructors at other universities to create every UCA course: every reading assignment, PPT slide, homework question, and test question. Physics for example was prepared by an experienced astrophysicist/science educator at the University British Columbia; the course is informative and well-organized. So I deliver the course, develop relationships with the students, assess their knowledge, and occasionally insert more geologic examples of physics principles.
Next semester I'll teach Introduction to Earth Processes to the same students, which will be the first Earth Science class ever taught at UCA. The same type of course materials will be provided and I expect to use most of them. Besides teaching a good class, my goal is to attract even more students to the EES major.
EES courses begin in earnest next year, for the junior students. As the only geologist on the faculty, I spend considerable time preparing UCA to deliver this major. Course materials for nearly twenty EES classes are now being finalized by instructors at University British Columbia; at this late stage I'm a resource if they want some local knowledge or information. I just hosted a UBC geologist, Ozlem Suleyman, who visited for a week prior to writing her two courses - she wanted to see field opportunities and get a sense of students in the classroom. I've spent considerable time doing reconnaissance fieldwork of roadcuts within 30 km of campus, finding potential fieldtrip stops and collecting rock specimens for laboratory exercises. Other activities - I've gathered geotechnical reports from construction of the UCA campus to use for teaching purposes, advised the Dean to slightly modify the order in which Earth Science courses are delivered, prepared buying lists for all the M&S needed in the geology laboratory, and will soon recommend modifications for the design of that laboratory (which has not been built). Also, Murodbek (our environmental geographer) and I are meeting with community partners - especially geologists with the local Khorog State University, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat. and the governmental Main Department of Geology - to create MOUs for teaching/research collaborations, student internships, and data sharing (most Soviet geology maps and reports are "secret"). I've hosted some visiting geologists who passed through Khorog, yielding new friendships, interesting lectures, and the donation of 300 kg of rock and mineral specimens. And while I don't have a personal research agenda, I'm catching up on the published literature pertaining to the tectonic evolution and Quaternary geology of the Pamirs.
As a Fulbright Scholar I actually report to the American Embassy in Dushanbe. They oversee other activities in Khorog, especially a drop-in center for teens and adults who want to develop English language skills, have good WiFi access, and participate in educational activities led by American or American-trained instructors. Last month, I stopped by talk with local students in this American Space and I'll try to make that a monthly occurrence while I'm here.
