Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary

Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.

AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can reliably create syllabi, homework, handouts, and associated solutions tailored to course level and objectives with minimal human intervention.

Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.

AI: Fully automatable - Maintaining attendance, gradebooks, and records is routine data management that can be fully automated with existing LMS and automation tools.

Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.

AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can search literature, retrieve citations, format bibliographies, and compile specialized reading lists reliably when connected to up-to-date databases.

Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.

AI: Partial - AI can continuously monitor and summarize literature and even surface conference findings, but cannot replace the interpersonal exchange and active participation of colleagues and conferences.

Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.

AI: Partial - AI can assist heavily with data analysis, literature review, and writing, but cannot yet independently conceive, lead, ethically oversee, and be accountable for original research end-to-end.

Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.

AI: Partial - AI can draft and structure grant proposals and generate budgets and justifications, but securing funding requires tailoring, institutional coordination, and PI accountability that AI cannot fully provide alone.

Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.

AI: Partial - AI can support supervision through feedback, progress tracking, and resource provision, but cannot fully perform mentorship, evaluation, and responsibility for students' academic and professional development.

Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.

AI: Partial - AI can generate and digitally administer exams and auto-grade objective or rubric-based items, but complex subjective grading and high-stakes integrity decisions still require human oversight.

Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as structural geology, micrometeorology, and atmospheric thermodynamics.

AI: Partial - AI can prepare high-quality lecture content and even deliver recorded or scripted lectures, but it cannot fully replicate real-time pedagogical adaptation and nuanced interactive teaching in all contexts.

Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.

AI: Partial - Automated grading handles objective problems and rubric-driven assignments well, but holistic evaluation of papers and creative work still needs human judgment.

Supervise laboratory work and field work.

AI: Partial - AI can assist with protocol planning, remote monitoring, and safety alerts, but hands-on supervision and on-site judgment for labs and fieldwork remain largely human responsibilities.

Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.

AI: Partial - AI can analyze outcomes, suggest revisions, and draft curricula, but final curriculum planning requires institutional, ethical, and contextual decisions that need human leadership.

Purchase and maintain equipment to support research projects.

AI: Partial - AI can streamline vendor research, procurement workflows, inventory tracking, and predictive maintenance, but purchasing approvals and physical maintenance tasks still need human involvement.

Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.

AI: Partial - AI can provide evidence-based academic and career advice and resources, yet nuanced, personalized mentorship and institutional advising authority remain human-centric.

Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.

AI: Partial - AI can seed, moderate, and manage many online discussions and detect moderation issues, but high-level facilitation and managing complex interpersonal classroom dynamics are not fully automatable.

Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.

AI: Partial - AI can facilitate collaboration by summarizing literature, drafting proposals, and suggesting solutions but cannot fully replicate the interpersonal negotiation, consensus-building, and domain leadership that colleagues provide.

Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment.

AI: Partial - AI can recommend and even initiate orders for textbooks and lab equipment via integrated procurement systems, but final curricular judgments, approvals, and physical receipt/installation typically require human oversight.

Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.

AI: Partial - AI-driven chatbots and scheduling tools can handle routine advising and extend availability, yet complex mentoring, career guidance, and confidential student interactions still need human faculty presence.

Review papers or serve on editorial boards for scientific journals, and review grant proposals for federal agencies.

AI: Partial - AI can perform technical checks, reproducibility analyses, and draft review comments, but assessing novelty, broader impact, and exercising expert judgment on manuscripts or grant proposals remains a human responsibility.

Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.

AI: Partial - AI can prepare background materials, model policy outcomes, and record minutes, but serving effectively on committees requires human political judgment, diplomacy, and institutional knowledge that cannot be fully automated.

Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.

AI: Partial - AI can automate outreach messaging, pre-screen applicants, and streamline registration logistics, yet nuanced recruitment, relationship-building with prospective students and employers, and final placement decisions require human involvement.

Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.

AI: Partial - AI can assist with budgeting, scheduling, and routine administrative workflows, but high-level leadership, personnel decisions, conflict resolution, and accountability for a department head are not fully automatable.

Participate in campus and community events.

AI: Partial - AI can help plan events, produce materials, and provide virtual appearances, but in-person community engagement, relationship-building, and embodied presence at campus events cannot be wholly replaced.

Answer questions from the public and media.

AI: Partial - AI can draft responses, generate talking points, and field routine public inquiries, but serving as an authoritative media spokesperson and handling sensitive live interactions need a human voice and judgment.

Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.

AI: Partial - AI can deliver technical analyses, models, and written recommendations for government or industry clients, yet trusted client relationships, liability-bearing professional judgment, and bespoke strategic advice require human consultants.

Act as advisers to student organizations.

AI: Partial - AI can provide resources, draft communications, and simulate advising conversations but cannot fully replace in-person mentorship, relationship-building, and institutional responsibilities.