Course Description

Every Junior Seminar in the Department of Environmental Science has as its main focus a project whose completion is important to some stakeholder outside the college. Sometimes the party waiting for the report being prepared by students enrolled in the seminar is mildly interested in the outcome, prepared to take into consideration the research and ideas of Allegheny's juniors. Other times--and this is one of those unusual occasions--the outside participant is anxiously awaiting the class' findings.

Cannon Design has been hired by Allegheny College as the lead architectural firm to design the North Quad dormitory. The dorm will be located just north of the Campus Center, bounded by Limber, John, North Main Streets and Highland Avenue. Of particular interest to us, the college is seriously considering having the building constructed with state-of-the-art environmental features. That's where you come in. The architects at Cannon Design have agreed to have you work with them to locate the most cost-effective, environmentally sound options in the five categories listed below. Their goal, if it is economically feasible, is to have the building certified LEED-Silver.

Your task, at least on the face of it, is rather simple. If your research and reports are professionally sound and of high enough quality you are likely to see the fruits of your labor around the time you graduate from Allegheny College.

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Criteria for a Good Report

(generated by students listed above.)

1. Address everything
2. Cite resources (quality, timeliness, quantity)
3. Good explanations
4. Organization
5. Case studies
6. Well written (keep audiance in mind)
7. Evaluate opposing arguments
8. Suggestions for future, what needs more research
9. Scientifically sound
10. Contextualization --> who cares?
11. Economic analysis
12. Presentation matters
13. Examples and products and sources
14. Graphs and tables

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Schedule

All reports to be prepared as both written and graphical (or PowerPoint) format. You will also present your data for feedback and critique to the rest of the group. Deadlines may be adjusted as the semester proceeds.

Deadlines for Senior Project Proposals

• Begin by reviewing the Department Guidelines on the ES Web page.
• Choose less than or equal to three comp questions AND review two comps done by ES students by September 24
• Comp Proposal, First Draft of Introduction and Methods completed by October 30 . This includes:
  
  • Introduction and literature review of at least 15 references
  • Methods
  • Timetable
    
  • Expected results
    
  • Review of two earlier comps
• Comp proposal, Second Draft completed by December 7 .
• Presentation of Comps will take place in March and April.

Due Dates subject to change.

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Grades will be based on class participation, i.e., the quality and intensity of your critique of other's presentations (20%), your written reports (50%), your oral reports to Cannon Design and the college (10%), Comp first draft, Comp second draft (10% each).