Instructor: Dr. Zhi-Qing (ZQ) Lin
Office: 0328 SL
Email: zhlin@siue.edu
Phone: 618-650-2650
Class Schedule: Lecture: 6:00pm-8:50pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3225
Science Building, May 20-June 21, 2013. Field and Lab Practice: 9:00am-3:30pm,
Saturdays, May 20 – June 21, 2013.
Teaching Assistant: TBA
Office Hours: 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Tuesdays
and Thursdays; 0218 Science Building
Course Description:
This graduate course provides students theoretical knowledge and technical
skills on environmental sampling. This should help ensure consideration of the
many variables and special techniques that are needed to plan and carry out
sampling activities that will provide representative environmental samples for
analysis. A number of field sampling techniques will be covered for the
sampling of soil, air, water, vegetation, and biota. Students will have the opportunity for hands-on experience with most of the
sampling techniques. Students will be
encouraged to explore current and emerging technologies in environmental
sampling and analyses.
Course Prerequisites: A basic understanding of statistics, or consent of the instructor.
Text Book: Site
Characterization: Sampling and Analysis.
1997, by HMTRI/Intelecom, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
Reference Books: (1) Fundamentals of Environmental Sampling and
Analysis. 2007, by C. Zhang, Wiley-Interscience.
(2) Fundamentals of Environmental
Sampling. 2003, by K. Bodger,
Government Institutes.
Additional articles from journals
and the internet will be given as supplemental reading materials.
Course Objectives:
1). To understand basic environmental sampling principles; 2) To become familiar with the basics of environmental sampling techniques; 3) To obtain hands-on environmental sampling experience.
Grading Policy:
Class exams (one midterm and final): Material presented in class lectures and required readings will form the basis for examination questions. Class examinations will require an understanding of lecture and reading materials and result in applications of the knowledge to practical situations. Each student will need to develop and present a research sampling plan on a selected topic during the class.
Grading: One midterm exam: 40%; Field/lab practice: 10%; Research project (the Sampling and Analysis Plan): 10%; Final exam: 40%. Total Points: 100. A: 90-100; B: 80-89; C: 70-79; D: 60-69; F: <60. Note: Credit earned in a course in which a D or F grade is recorded cannot be used to satisfy the requirements for a graduate degree.
Attendance Policy:
Regular prompt attendance is required for success in this course. Only University approved absences will be accepted. Because classroom or group discussion will form an important part of class lectures, excessive absences may result in a 10% reduction of your overall grade or being dropped from the course.
Field participation is essential for successful completion of the course. Students will be responsible for their transportation to and from the location of the sampling event.
Students with
Disabilities
Students with disabilities should visit the Disability Support Services (DDS) located in the Student Success Center, Room 1270, at their earliest convenience to meet the director and discuss available services. The student with a documented disability and a disability ID card from DSS should also notify the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary arrangements.
Academic Misconduct:
"Acts of academic misconduct for which students are subject to sanctions include, without limitation, plagiarism, cheating, failure or refusal to follow clinical practice standards, falsifying or manufacturing scientific or educational data and/or representing manufactured data to be the result of scientific or scholarly experiment or research, and soliciting, aiding, abetting, concealing, or attempting such act. Plagiarism is defined as including, without limitation, the act of representing the work of another as one's own. Plagiarism may consist of copying, paraphrasing, or otherwise using the written, electronic, or oral work of another without proper acknowledgement or consent of the source or presenting oral, electronic, or written material prepared by another as one's own. Plagiarism also includes using information from electronic resources, including the Internet, without the use of proper citations." (SIUE Student Academic Code, Spring 2003)
In the event of academic misconduct, the student is subject to a number of penalties, including a failing grade for a plagiarized assignment or for a course.
Lecture Schedule:
May 21: Course introduction; Site investigation; Sampling plan development
May 23: Quality control and quality
assurance in environmental sampling
May 28: Statistics in environmental
sampling; Data analysis; Sampling equipment and materials preparations
May 30: Case studies/discussion; Midterm exam (Materials
covered during May 21 – 28)
June 1 (Saturday -
Field trip): Soil, plant, and soil invertebrate sampling
June 4: Air Sampling (both indoor and outdoor): Sampling equipment and sample preparations
June 6: Soils and Sediment Sampling:
Sampling equipment and sample preparations;
June 8 (Saturday
- Field trip): Airborne particulate sampling;
June 11: Water Sampling: Sampling equipment and sample preparations
June 13: Biological samples collection: Sampling equipment and sample preparations
June 15 (Saturday -
Field trip): Water, sediment, and aquatic organisms sampling
June 18: Student research presentations;
Special topics
June 20: Case studies/discussion; Final examination (Materials
covered during June 6 – June 18)