As a Masters student at the Department of Geology at UB I have taken several courses that each require either a group project or individual project that reflects the learning outcome. It is through these courses that I have developed new skills, honed the skills and knowledge I already had and opened up my career possibilities. My overall student career at UB has taught me to not only learn for the classroom but also learn for life and to apply the learning into practice. Some of the projects that highlight my knowledge and skills are listed below.
Click on the image above to read the full contents of the project.
More GIS maps and sample work can be found under the GIS Maps section.
GIS for Environmental Modelling| Term Project
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This course covered an in-depth study of how GIS can be used for environmental applications and what techniques best work for a given application. Through this course I was able to further expand my knowledge and skill as a GIS expert and it helped me to develop skills to carry out my own original research project while meeting deadlines.
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For this project I acquired raw data from various governmental and non-governmental website databases (Oregon Geospatial Data Clearinghouse, USGS) and used the obtained data to evaluate landslide hazard areas using linear regression model and other AcrMap tools.
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Click on the image above to view the powerpoint class presentation.
Environmental Remote Sensing|Term Project
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Today, there is an ever increasing need on how technology can be used to attain greater heights in research as well as in the industry. Research that make use of remote sensing tools are not only addressed in geology but also in other fields of study.
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I was fortunate enough to take this remote sensing course as it opened up my understanding of how technology can be incorporated to produce astonishing results. Throughout this course I learned how to collect the right data from various archival remote sensing databases (Earth Explorer) and then extract the data for analysis in lab using the software platform ENVI.
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Extraterrestrial Volcanism| Term Paper
​ The term paper can be read here
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Terrestrial volcanism itslef is a complex yet alluring topic and the opportunity to learn about volcanism on other planets was something I was not going to miss out on. This course is offered every other year and I was lucky enough to take it the first year of my Masters degree.
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As a class, we examined volcanic deposits on solid bodies throught the solar system (Mars, Moon, Venus, Io to name a few). I really enjoyed this course as it helped me to understand how volcanic eruptions and depositions occur based on different environments.
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I was really interested in the lightning aspect of other planets and during a volcainc eruption so for this course term research paper I looked into evaluating possible mechanisms for lightning/volcanic lightning on extraterrestrial planets.
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Glacial Geology| Research Paper
​ Click here to read the paper
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I wanted to study the glacial history of the area that I live in (Buffalo) and ​this course was just the perfect one for that. This course examined the landscapes created as a result of glaciers and ice-sheets through various lectures and hands on lab exercises. The lecture component complimented the lab component really well as I was able to learn not only past and present ice sheet processes but also learn about the most recent findings using state of the art techniques.
The lab component allowed me to get hands on experience that I would not have been able to learn anywhere. Through the use of maps, aerial photographs, computer analysis and field work I was able to learn and develop new skills on how glacial study can be done. For this course I chose to research on the 'Glaciation of the Rocky Mountains' that further helped me to understand the mechanisms and processes of glacial geology.
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Research Ethics| Case Study Paper
Click here to read about the case study ​
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This course introduces the ethics of scientific research and moral responsibilities of science to the general public. A number of case studies across multiple discipline of research were analyzed and evaluated. A lot of times research is done in the name of 'research to produce results' without realizing the ethical and moral implication of it. As a student in the scientific field it is important to know the moral, ethical and social aspects before carrying out any research. This course offered a whole lot more that just the basics of research ethics. This course helped me to review and alazyze research misconduct, learn from the misconduct and then reason as to why and how such misconduct occurs.
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