Francis Jones M.Sc. P.Eng.
Education
Short pages of family stuff: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Career
Current activities (2011)
- Science Teaching and Learning Fellow: contributing towards implementation of science education initiatives within the Dep't of EOS at UBC (started July 2007, for 5-6 yrs total).
... Details ...
Recent activities (2006-2009)
- Teaching eosc350 (applied geophysics for non-geophysics students), including implementation of Team Based Learning strategies.
- Teaching eosc351.
- Development of interactive workflow documentation for carrying out geophysical inversion using UBC-GIF codes. The workflow for inverting 2D DC resistivity is complete, a workflow for 3D inversion of gravity and magnetics is finished, with only a few examples still to be completed, and workflows for 3D inversion of time domain EM data are being developed based upon other research at the UBC-GIF. Workflows are available online.
- Contributing member of the Teaching Initiatives Committee. (See the EOS-SEI project website.)
- Project lead, upgrade of the earthquakes learning facilities in the Pacific Museum of the Earth. This project has one full time employee for the summer, funded by the Dean's office, FoS.
- Development of Version 2.0 of the AGLO suite of interactive online learning resources.
- Chair, EOS Course Scheduling Committee.
- Project lead, completion of the IAG CD-ROM (Inversion for Applied Geophysics). Project details.
- Updating the UBC-GIF website.
Teaching experience as lecturer, Dep't of Earth and Ocean Sciences, UBC:
1994-present, at 55% fte (full time equivalent).
- Courses taught:
- eosc350 Applied geophysics for non-geophysicists (class size 30-50);
- eosc351 Applied geophysics for non-geophysicists (class size 10-25);
- Applied geophysics for geophysics honors students (eosc451 & eosc452; class size 10-20) (no longer offered);
- eosc114 Natural disasters (earthquake portion) for all students (class size 250 to >500 );
- Set and mark professional accreditation exam in geophysics for the APEGBC (Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia).
- Teaching / Learning initiatives:
- Full time implementing initiatives related to courses, curriculum, and community development.
- Introduction of Team Based Learning into engineering / science courses (eosc350).
- Design and production of the AGLO suite of interactive online learning resources (a BCcampus funded project).
- Evaluation research to study the effectiveness of TBL and
online resources for teaching technical subjects to non-specialists
(ongoing).
- Development of earthquakes lectures for the team-taught course Natural Disasters (eosc114).
- Development of earthquakes labs and online exercises for the first year laboratory earth sciences course eosc111.
- Conversion of all earthquakes material for a distance education (online learning) version of eosc114.
- Development of all lab activities for all applied
geophysics courses at EOS, UBC (eosc350, 351, 451, 452) (over several
years).
- Introduction of field exercises into applied geohysics courses for geophysics majors (eosc351, eosc451, eosc452).
- Proof of concept for applied geophysics field exercises at several EOS Geology Field School (eosc328) exercise sites (EOS Field Camp near Oliver, BC).
- Development of geophysics field exercises for a mining short-course on exploration techniques, carried out at near the EOS Field Camp near Oliver, BC
- Other
- Author, Teaching technical subjects to diverse student groups: challenges, solutions and an example, presented at The 28th McGraw-Hill Ryerson National Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference
Exemplary Teaching: Inspiring Learner Engagement and Success, Nov 2006.
- Co-author on an interactive cd-rom about inversion for applied geophysics (IAG).
- Invited presentation about online learning initiatives to BC's
Minister of Advanced Education.
- Seminar presentation Experiences in the Use of Online Learning Objects for Traditional & Non-Traditional Learning at UBC's annual eStrategy TownHall meeting.
- Co-author on "Balancing the diverse goals of a large team-taught first year science course: A case study in course development", a poster-paper presented at the STLHE (Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education) conference.
- Supported the geophysical components of several undergraduate projects in geological engineering and geology.
- External reader on two undergraduate honour's theses on topics related to applied geophysics.
- Assisted other professors in implementation of Team Based Learning components in their course.
- Delivery of lectures and learning activities to grade-school,
high-school, and public interest forums, about geophysics and
earthquakes.
- Volunteer judge at the annual Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair.
- Provided assistance with development of a new field school
for prospectors offered by the BC and Yukon Chamber of Mines at the UBC
Geology Field School location.
Outreach coordinator, UBC Geophysical Inversion Facility, Dep't of Earth and Ocean Sciences, UBC, 1996-2007 at 45% fte.
- Primary duties:
- Development of workshop and learning materials for students
and professionals on topics related to theory and practice of inversion
for applied geophysics.
- Management of sponsor - researcher relations, including
annual sponsor's meetings, training materials, responding to questions,
management of licensing procedures with UBC's industry liaison group,
etc.
- Primary user testing of codes and user interfaces.
- Production of software documentation for inversion and modelling codes and their user interfaces.
- Coordination of all other outreach activities, including design and maintenance of the wibsite.
- Particular accomplishments:
- Co-author on the IAG learning resource package- "Inversion
for Applied Geophyscis", a teaching and learning cd including basic and
theory text/images, exercises, and education versions of inversion
& modelling software.
- Co-presenter at several workshops for professionals in mineral exploration.
- Invited presentation Geophysical Inversion: Current State-of-the-Art & Future directions, Francis Jones and Doug Oldenburg, at the KEGS 50th Anniversary Symposium, Toronto, March 8, 2003.
- Design, production and maintenance of the UBC-GIF website.
- Co-author on much of the UBC-GIF software documentation.
Independant geophysical services consultant 1990-1994;
- Instrumentation development, especially for glacier sounding services.
- Geophysical field work, data processing and reporting for
mineral exploration, engineering and environmental applications, and
glaciology. (Contracts all over BC, and in Nevada and Mexico, employing
all types of surveys other than seismic methods).
Instrumentation Development Engineer, White Geophysical Ltd. 1988-1990.
- Primary accomplishment was design and construction of a
multi-channel full-waveform recording Induced Polarization receiver
instrument for field deployment for mineral exploration. All hardware
and PC-based control / data processing software was designed &
constructed by myself. The system was used for several surveys before
the survey contracting firm stopped doing field work.
Oil- and gas-well logging field engineer, Computalog Gearhart Ltd., Calgary, Alta.
1981-1983.
Personal
- Married with two sons who were born Sept 1988 and Dec 1993.
- Interests: Landscape and nature photography, travel, home improvements, doing stuff with my kids (even homework!).
- Some photos of places I've done geophysical work.
- Two short pages of family stuff: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Affiliations
