How to Build a Habitable Planet In this course we will examine how Earth came to be the planet we know today: a uniquely habitable world, home to a diverse array of organisms and interconnected systems. We will begin our journey through deep time with the Big Bang and the coalescence of the first stardust, and conclude by examining how humans have become integral drivers of planetary evolution, transforming Earth’s surface and atmosphere at largely unprecedented rates. Students will engage with cutting edge scientific research via readings, discussion, and synthesis of the primary and secondary scientific literature.

Climate Dynamics In this course we will explore the interconnected components of Earth’s climate system, the laws governing their dynamics, and their changes over time.  We will describe how we gather information about Earth’s climate and how we know it is changing.  In a weekly laboratory, we will analyse real data and apply simple numerical models to draw conclusions about phenomena in the atmosphere, ocean, ice sheets, and more.  A major goal of this course is for students to gain confidence in quantitative methods for studying the Earth system.  (Any 100-level course in ECSC. (ECSC majors or with instructor approval) Lecture/lab.

Cameron de Wet

Reviews and ratings for Cameron de Wet at Middlebury College.Cameron de Wet teaches How to Build Habitable Planet, Climate Dynamics and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Cameron de Wet good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

The course was very easy as long as you pay attention in lecture and take some notes. It's not work heavy, mostly just discussion posts and some easy group work. The exams are easy and straightforward, and Cam is very good at answering questions to help leading up to the exam. It definitely feels like he set up the class so that it would be difficult not to do well.

Cam de Wet taught this course, and if I could do it again, I would do it another million times. He is an excellent lecturer, he answers questions effectively, he is very accommodating, and the exams were very straightforward (and easy). If you want an easy science distribution requirement, this is the course for you. 

I really enjoyed Cam's lecturing style and I found the exams easy, as long as you study a bit. The content was interesting and I remained engaged! I also liked that he reviewed the content that would be on the test the class day beforehand. 