Welcome to this course. This page has some details about instructors, grading policies, and other gory details. The class schedule, including homework assignments and studio exercises, is linked separately.
You can use the class email list while working on homeworks, studying for exams, and preparing for studios. To do this, send email to ASTR2050-L@lists.rpi.edu. For information on subscribing or unsubscribing to this and other lists, send email to listproc@lists.rpi.edu with just the word "help" in the message body.
The course instructor is Jim Napolitano. You can reach me by email at napolj@rpi.edu, phone at x8019, or in my office in the Science Center, room 1W07. I don't schedule regular office hours because it's unlikely that any regular time is good for everyone in the class. Please contact me one way or another if you'd like to discuss something or set up an appointment.
Our graduate teaching assistant is Nicolle Zellner (email zellnn@rpi.edu). Nicolle will be available for help with homework or other questions, and she will be especially important for the studio labs. Her office is in the Science Center, room 3C18, and her phone extension is x6763. Homework will be graded by Kwang-Su Lee (email leek2@rpi.edu).
Class meets twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday from 10-11:50am. Tuesday classes are lecture-based, and meet in SC 2C30. Thursday classes are studio labs, and meet in SC 2C22.
Your grade for the course will be based on the homework, studio labs, midterm exam, and final exam using the following formula:
where the cutoffs for A, B, C, and D are 90, 80, 70, and 60 respectively. The final exam is not optional. The exam grades will be scaled up (if necessary) so that the class average is approximately 75. I may make small adjustments to this scheme if there are special circumstances.