Great Problems Seminars (GPS)
Great Problems Seminars (GPS)
(Strongly Recommended if You Would Like to Jumpstart Your Project Experience in Your First Year)
In the Great Problems Seminars, you will take problem solving out of the textbook and into the real world. This is a two-course interdisciplinary sequence designed to serve as an introduction to university-level research and project work with a focus on themes of current global importance. Everything you do will be tied to current events, societal problems and human needs. You will begin to develop all of the skills that you will need to complete your research projects in the second, third and fourth years at WPI.
This is a designed to serve as an introduction to university-level research and project work with a focus on themes of current global importance. Everything you do will be tied to current events, societal problems and human needs. You will begin to develop all of the skills that you will need to complete your research projects in the second, third and fourth years at WPI.
The Great Problem Seminars (GPS) are all about important problems. The skills you will develop are exactly what you will need to be successful in your project work at WPI, and in your future career. Each GPS is focused on a "Great Problem" with a sequence of team projects exploring many different facets of the problem. These courses give students the opportunity to transition into College with a faculty guided course aiming at introducing you to Academics at WPI. You can register for only one GPS Seminar.
There are eight Great Problem Seminars planned for the class of 2016.
Fall 2012 Offerings:
GPS #1: Food Sustainability
Food is hot! Free range chickens, locavores in San Francisco, organic veggies, frankenfoods, high fructose corn syrup – all topics in the news. Can we feed the world? Does the use of ethanol in gasoline cause food shortages? What are the dangers and benefits to genetic engineering of food plants? Learn about and work to solve the current paradoxes of our food situation – the malnutrition of too little AND too much food: deprivation and obesity. What solutions are there – political, economic, biological and chemical?
Students in this course have...
- Developed a plan to expand the Meals and Wheels Program in Worcester,
- Analyzed the impact of aspartame on children's health,
- Developed a business plan for aquafarming in the Northeast, and
- Connected Heifer International with WPI's project Center in Namibia.
This Seminar sequence will count towards a Humanities and Arts (HU 1100) and Chemistry (CH 1000) general elective credit.
GPS #2: Heal the World
Starts with the biology of an infectious disease and moves on to study both the biology and the management of disease control. Students study the cost of research and regulation required to bring new drugs to market. You will learn to examine problems with local complexity and global scale. Students also study management issues as cost/benefit analysis, innovation, decision-making, and competitive analysis.
Students in Heal the World have completed projects that...
- Analyzed non-compliance for tuberculosis treatment in Tamil Nadu, India,
- Studied inefficiencies in the delivery of health care,
- Completed a case study of cervical cancer in Zambezia, Mozambique,
- Studied DNA vaccines for HIV/AIDS, and
- Studied river blindness and schistosomiasis in Africa.
This Seminar sequence will count towards a Biology (BB 1000) and Management (MG 1000) general elective credit.
GPS #3: The Grand Challenges Seminar
Begins with a high-speed tour of the Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st century: population growth, climate change, energy, mobility, water and food, aging infrastructure, resource recovery and recyclability, and health care. The course blends engineering with humanities and builds a framework for the world in which students will live, showing them how they can make the world different through their ingenuity and innovation. Policy and societal issues are also discussed in the context of the Grand Challenges.
Students this past year in their teams have...
- Analyzed methods for improving the efficiency of solar cells,
- Developed plans for organic waste management at WPI,
- Developed a combined business/education plan for soap production in Malewa, Kenya, and
- Developed a sustainable design of water and road systems in Kamba, Sierra Leone.
This Seminar sequence will count towards a Humanities and Arts (HU 1100) and Engineering Science (ES 1000) general elective credit.
GPS # 4: The World’s Water - NEW for 2012-13
Explores the looming water crisis from social and ecological perspectives. Topics include water as a human right, water pollution, ecosystem services, technological innovation, and global governance. You will explore why exactly on a planet covered by so much water is this resource becoming increasingly scarce. The roles of organizations and individuals will be examined both in terms of their contributions to the crisis versus their efforts for a sustainable solution. Students also study change management issues as data trends, Chinese and US water policy, population dynamics, ethics, hydropolitics, and integrated strategies.
This Seminar sequence will count towards Engineering Science (ES 1000) and Management (MG 1000) general elective credit.
Spring Offerings:
GPS #5: Power the World
Looks at both the history, policies and current trends in energy technologies. Every generation in every community has experienced an "energy crisis." People have found ways to proceed, but solutions have always involved positive and negative consequences. Our students gain access to this depth and breadth of awareness from the first day of the first term. This is key to becoming not only effective engineers, but effective citizens of the 21st century.
Students in Power the World have...
- Developed a consumer guide for residential wind power,
- Analyzed policies for nuclear waste management,
- Analyzed the costs and benefits of a green roof on WPI's proposed recreation center, and
- Studied algae for biodiesel production.
This Seminar sequence will count towards Engineering Science (ES 1000) and Humanities (HU 1000) general elective credit.
GPS #6: Global Health – NEW for 2012-13
Starts with the biology of an infectious disease and moves on to study both the biology and the moral, political, and cultural aspects of illness. You will learn to examine problems with local complexity and global scale. Students also study the socioeconomic parameters of epidemics and the current political and moral issues surrounding health care in the US.
This Seminar sequence will count towards a Biology (BB 1000) and Humanities (HU 1100) general elective credit.
GPS #7: Living on the Edge: Exploring the Balance between Human Needs and Natural Resources. NEW for 2012-13
Today, in many remote parts of the world, we see rising conflicts between indigenous communities and the economic pressure coming from a global industrial sector that hopes to harvest the natural resources that surround them. This GPS seeks to explore the consequences of that edge of contact for both the natural populations of these regions (plant, animal, human) and the industries and resources that the world relies upon for advancement. Because this topic explores the intersection between community values and technological advancement, the course provides opportunities to explore both tangible “edges” (between geographic or physical boundaries) and conceptual “edges” (between negotiated or imposed categories of difference). The course focus thereby offers a base for a range of student projects related to conservation, climate change, energy use and natural resources, scientific discovery/exploration, poverty and welfare, health care and disease, and many more.
This seminar sequence will count towards an Engineering Science (ES1000) and Humanities (HU1100) general elective credit.
GPS #8: Educate the World – NEW for 2012-13
Should where you grow up and go to school determine how well you do in life? Do you wonder why education seems so dysfunctional at times? International tests indicate that Americans aren’t well educated: is that true? Have you ever taught an adult to read? Can you design a truly informative, cool way to present a tough topic? Do nature and nurture, equity and excellence, opportunity and outcome, vision and accountability, and the availability of educational technology matter? In the end, what should an educated person know and be able to do at age 18, at age 22? Do you meet the criteria? In this course, you will dig deep into the background of perennial educational issues and problems, examine the forces and factors that promote or compromise educational systems and programs, create informed, persuasive positions of your own, and devote time to educating others. We think we can make the world a better place with better-educated people. Join us in our action plan to determine how this can be done.
This seminar sequence will count towards a Computer Science (CS1000) and Humanities (HU1100) general elective credit. (The CS credit will not fulfill the CS requirement for bioinformatics, management, management engineering, MIS, ECE, IMGD, Psychology majors)
How to Register for a GPS Seminar:
Each Seminar is a two-course sequence and are linked together for A and B terms. Upon entering the Course Registration Number (CRN) into your worksheet within the bannerweb information system, you will need to enter both CRNs at the same time. Please see the chart for each seminar's corresponding sections and CRN numbers. You can add this to your course tracker to allow for easy course registration.
Please note that the GPS Seminars are all categorized as FY 1100 for A term and FY 1101 for B term
If interested in registering in the future for a Spring GPS course, please submit the following form: