Lillis Hall and Hydrology Class

Caitlin H.

January 6, 2010 - 2:40 PM

When I completed my business minor I thought I was done taking classes in the Lillis Complex, part of the Lundquist College of Business. It was a kind of sad revelation to think I wouldn't be attending classes in the facility anymore. The Lillis Complex is one of the newer additions to campus. It opened in 2004 after a $40 million dollar expansion. Compared to other classrooms on campus, having a class in Lillis was like having class in a five star hotel. The building has amazing energy conservation measures, "smart" technology, a whole lot of fancy stuff that if you're interested in knowing more about you should check out the self guided sustainability tour.

Until recently I hadn't realized Lillis saves water through low-flow fixtures and an ‘eco-roof' which uses rain to grow beneficial vegetation rather than allow it to run off. I learned that when I went to my first Hydrology class of the term on Tuesday.

I am truly fascinated by water rights issues and I am excited for the progression of this course throughout winter term. This course has a unique approach offering students the opportunity to uncover both scientific explanations of how the hydrologic cycle works and why, in addition to policy issues related to water use. As I understand it, the course also offers the opportunity to enhance computer software skills while working with hydrologic data and models.

During Tuesday's lecture I found myself drinking in everything the professor had to say. There has been so much content packed just into our first week of class it is almost overwhelming. I find myself already behind in readings and lab exercises to complete. I wish I could say all my classes are as exciting this term, but unfortunately that is not the case. I will give you a brief run-down on the others:

Geography of Globalism - A fascinating topic but the class has been slow to get off the ground for me. I'm taking the course with a combination of graduates and undergraduates so I'm most excited for the diversity of experiences and variety of research topics within the room. I think when the time comes we will have some amazing class discussions that are very enlightening.

Intro to Geographic Information Systems - My last "technical" course for the geography major. I think the content of these types of technical classes are challenging, but provide such a powerful tool to use after graduation. For this class I complete a lot of work in the SSIL (http://ssil.uoregon.edu/ssil/) lab working on a variety of GIS projects.

History of North American Landscapes - I'm taking this class online...and I'll be honest - I just haven't gotten that far past the syllabus yet. But I'm getting there!