Dr. Stephen Marshak is a professor in the Department of Geology, and is the Director of the School of Earth, Society & Environment at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Marshak has participated in geological field research projects across the globe, focused on understanding the origin and evolution of mountain belts. A veteran classroom and field instructor, Dr. Marshak has won College-level and University-level awards for excellence in undergraduate education, and has won the Neil Miner award of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers for his contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth Sciences. Dr. Marshak is the author of two best-selling college textbooks in introductory geology (Earth - Portrait of a Planet; and Essentials of Geology) and is the co-author of Laboratory Manual for Introductory Geology; Geotours Workbook; Earth Structure; and Basic Methods of Structural Geology. For this course, he will be assisted by Dr. Eileen Herrstrom, who has been teaching introductory geology in the classroom and on-line at the University of Illinois for many years.