Gregory S. Baker
Jones/Bibee Endowed Assoc.
Professor of Geophysics
Near Surface and
Environmental Geophysics

Who:  The course will be open to (a) all students at the University of Tennessee, (b) students from other colleges and universities, (c) faculty from any institution, and (d) industry professionals.  The course will be capped at 26 students/faculty/professionals (based on existing computing facilities and logistics).   The TINGS program will focus on techniques, not problems, so participants may include geologists/geophysicists, engineers, archaeologists, agricultural scientists, etc., and participants will not be required to have any specific background (other than a solid work ethic and ability to get along with others!).

What: 

The TINGS program is designed to introduce students/professionals to survey design, acquisition, processing/visualization, and interpretation of various near-surface geophysics data.  The course model is based on a framework of industry partners whereby existing 1/2- to 3-day short courses involving various software and/or hardware are knitted together via a series of lectures and lab exercises given by an array of instructors.  The participating industry partners in 2007 (2008 partners have not been finalized) included:

Hardware Industry Partners:

AGI (electrical resistivity/IP)

Geometrics (seismic, magnetics, capacitively-coupled resistivity)

Geonics (ground conductivity, electromagnetics)

PELA (spontaneous potential)

Sensors & Software (ground-penetrating radar)

Software Industry Partners:

AGI (resistivity inversion)

Geosoft (spatial data display)

Kansas Geological Survey (surface wave analysis)

Parallel Geoscience Corp (seismic reflection processing)

 Additional Sponsors:

EEGS (Environmental & Engineering Geophysical Society)

Univ. of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tennessee)

When:  The 2008 TINGS program will be offered through the University of Tennessee during miniterm 2008.  The course will run 8:30am-5pm, Monday-Friday starting May 7th and running until May 28^th, inclusive.  Out-of-town participants should arrive May 6^th and depart May 29^th.  A detailed preliminary schedule is available.

Where:  The course will run in Knoxville, Tennessee, and include field sites in the Knoxville area (including Oak Ridge, TN).  Housing will be at the participants' expense, but affordable accommodations at University facilities are available.  Previously, participants have also grouped together and stayed in nearby hotel suites.

Why:  The objective of the TINGS program is to provide participants with a basic working knowledge of various near-surface geophysical techniques.  This knowledge can be used as a basis for future research, as job training, and/or to form professional connections.

How:  The online application form is posted here.

Cost:  The cost of the program will include four components:

Tuition.  Non-UT students do not have to register for course credit.  The TINGS Program, however, is a 3-credit course, and may be taken for credit (Geol 471) at the University of Tennessee.  This year we have not been able to negotiate a deal with the administration, so non-Tennessee participants would have to pay out-of-state tuition if course credit is desired.

Program Fee.  University of Tennessee students will not be charged a Program Fee.  For all other participants, there will be a program fee (used to supplement UT funds covering field logistics expenses, equipment shipping, vehicle rentals, plus travel and per diem for all visiting instructors).  The non-UT student Program Fee is $750. Keep in mind when considering this program fee that it would cost participants over $8,500 to take short courses on the topics individually (not including travel to different locations)!  Also note that all short courses are being taught gratis by highly qualified instructors.  The Program Fee will be $1,550 for professionals, either academic or industry (departmental and university funds used to defray the cost to students cannot be applied to professionals).  Note: TINGS is not designed to make a profit; hence, program fees are kept as low as possible and driven by our internal costs only.

Housing.  If already living near Knoxville, you will be able to travel to and from the lab and field sites every day (the program will run 8:30am-5pm).  If not, some form of housing will be required at the participants' expense.  Numerous hotels and rental properties are available, or other arrangements may be made by the participants.

Meals.  Participants will be responsible for their own meals.  One-hour lunch breaks will be given each day, and numerous facilities for lunch are available within walking distance.