A curriculum that includes scaling New Zealand’s Southern Alps? How about scuba diving in
the Florida Keys? Or camping along the Colorado River?
That’s all in a day’s work for students involved in the interdisciplinary seminars and
research programs sponsored by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Center for
Advanced Undergraduate Study and Experience (CAUSE).
Groups of CAUSE students have traveled locally, nationally, and globally to tackle complex
environmental problems. One group went to Lancaster County — a rapidly growing part of the
Pennsylvania — to study greenhouse gas emissions. Another group traversed the globe, landing
in New Zealand to get up close and personal with natural hazards like volcanoes, earthquakes,
and mudslides. CAUSE students have donned snorkels and scuba gear to for a first hand look at
the demise of coral reefs in the Florida Keys. Other CAUSE seminars have focused on health
and economic policy in Appalachia, global warming, and most recently, energy choices for the
new millennium.
The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) created the Center for Advanced Undergraduate
Study and Experience in the early 1990s to promote interdisciplinary, problem-based learning
opportunities for undergraduates. The centerpiece of CAUSE is a multi-semester seminar that
allows students to do theme-based research both in the classroom and out in the field. The
field study usually takes place during semester breaks. Students pick their own research
projects to work on in small groups.
Almost every year, EMS faculty propose CAUSE seminar topics to Robert Crane, associate dean
for education in EMS and director of CAUSE. From the faculty proposals, Crane chooses an
interdisciplinary topic that will attract a diverse group of student applicants. Finding a
good mix of minds is important because one of the overall goals of CAUSE, according to Crane,
is "to confront the interrelated scientific and societal issues surrounding the interactions
between society, the environment, and technology."
To learn more about CAUSE, visit the EMS website or contact the office of the associate dean
for education in EMS, 865-7482, amm9@psu.edu.
About these pages: The stories and profiles about CAUSE 2000 were written by student intern
Gina Cancelliere, with additional reporting by Dana Bauer. Cancelliere graduated in December
2000 with a B.S. in meteorology. For more information about the Science Writing Internship
Program, which includes opportunities to write for Research/Penn State Online, please contact
the editor.
