Professor Richard D’Amato leads his “Energy for the World” course in a way possible only on Semester at Sea: an open-air lecture aboard the MV Explorer on the Kiel Canal in Germany.Topics of the class included insolation, the total amount of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area during a given time.Students Christine Rudberg (left), from Bethel University, and Adolfo Yanez (right), from Universidad Iberoamerican, take notes during the class.“In our class we are talking about renewable energy sources. We have talked about wind and solar energy. Around the Kiel Canal there are quite a few wind turbines and a few solar panels to look at,” said Rudberg.The history of solar heating was another topic of discussion as scattered clouds passed overhead.Left to right, students Wesley Amoling, from Bentley College, Claudia Hammerschmidt, from the University of California Santa Barbara, and George Doub, from Rollins College, participate in the class. “You appreciate the Semester at Sea experience more because you’re not just stuck in a classroom, you’re actually outside learning about it,” said Hammerschmidt.The Kiel Canal, a waterway connecting the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, served as the backdrop for Professor D’Amato’s lecture.