Experimental Courses
AB 120X Beginning Arabic III
Continuation of AB 110X. Third in a sequence of three.
Recommended background: AB 110X. Not open to native or heritage speakers.
AB 200X The Culture of Arabic-Speaking Countries
A course in the history and/or culture of Arabic-speaking countries. Taught in English, this course may be taken by students with no knowledge of Arabic, although students with prior language experience will find opportunities to continue their language learning. Open to heritage speakers of Arabic.
AB 100X Beginning Arabic I
An intensive course to introduce the Arabic language to students with no background in Arabic. Emphasis will be on characters, grammar, and vocabulary. Oral language acquisition will stress structures and vocabulary required for basic communicative tasks. Cultural aspects of Arabic-speaking countries introduced through course material. First in a sequence of three. This class is not open to native or heritage speakers.
AB 110X Beginning Arabic II
Continuation of AB 100X, for non-native, non-heritage speakers. Second in a sequence of three.
Recommended background: AB 100X.
BB 205X Animal Behavior
Cat I
This course provides an introduction to the scientific study of animal behavior with emphasis on how and why animals behave as they do in the context of their natural environment. The behavior of animals will be analyzed from the perspective of several biological disciplines, including ecology, evolution, psychology and neurobiology. Recent research from the field and the laboratory will be used to illustrate topics such as communication, foraging, navigation, mate choice, predation, and social behavior.
Recommended background: BB 1045, Biodiversity
BME 350X Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Lab
This laboratory-driven course provides hands-on experience in the design, fabrication and characterization of biomaterials for medical applications. Students will use synthetic and natural polymer materials to fabricate a scaffold for applications such as tissue engineering, wound healing or controlled drug delivery. A challenge-based laboratory project will be assigned which will require the students to design a biomaterial scaffold that meets specific design criteria, and quantitatively assess the properties of this scaffold to evaluate how well the criteria were met. Design criteria may include mechanical strength, biocompatibility, porosity, degradation rate, or release kinetics. Students will complete the project at their own pace in a team setting and communicate their findings effectively.
Recommended background: Basic chemistry (CH 1010 and CH 1020) and a solid knowledge of material science (ES 2001).
Students who have previously taken BME3504 cannot receive credit for this course.
BME 381X Biomaterials Lab
This laboratory-driven course provides hands-on experience in the design, fabrication and characterization of biomaterials for medical applications. Students will use synthetic and natural polymer materials to fabricate a scaffold for applications such as tissue engineering, wound healing or controlled drug delivery. A challenge-based laboratory project will be assigned which will require the students to design a biomaterial scaffold that meets specific design criteria, and quantitatively assess the properties of this scaffold to evaluate how well the criteria were met. Design criteria may include mechanical strength, biocompatibility, porosity, degradation rate, or release kinetics. Students will complete the project at their own pace in a team setting and communicate their findings effectively.
Recommended background: Basic chemistry (CH 1010 and CH 1020) and a solid knowledge of material science (ES 2001).
BME 38XX Cellular Engineering Lab
This laboratory-driven course provides hands-on experience in the application of bioengineering to control cellular processes. Students will be challenged to design an intervention to manipulate a specific cellular process (adhesion, proliferation, migration, differentiation) and use modern cellular and molecular biology tools to assess and refine their approach. Laboratory exercises will provide an overview of cell culture technique, microscopy and molecular probes, quantification of cell proliferation and migration, and assessment of cellular differentiation in the context of the assigned projects. Students will complete the project at their own pace in a team setting and communicate their findings effectively.
Recommended background: Basic chemistry (CH 1010 and CH 1020) and a solid knowledge of cell biology (BB 2550).
BME 430X MQP Capstone Design
This course guides students through the engineering design process during the first two terms of their MQP to ensure that students participating in off-campus MQPs (with industrial or clinical clients) fulfill their capstone design requirement. The course focuses on developing a revised client statement based on the objectives, constraints, and functions of the design. Methods for concept generation, concept selection and development strategy and planning will be covered. In addition, ethics, manufacturability, and sustainability concerns will also be covered.
Recommended background: BME3300 or equivalent. Course should be taken concurrently with the MQP.
CE 400X Sustainable Solutions in Civil Engineering
Cat. II
If our civilization is to successfully support our ever-increasing populations and expanding industrialized nations, engineering professionals must adopt the necessity of seeking sustainable solutions. Where is the future of engineering design, construction and operations heading? This course addresses these questions. Fundamentals to be presented will in part, include: Green House Gasses (GHG), Ecological and Carbon Footprints, Cap & Trade, Energy Sources including Nuclear, Air, Solar, Geothermal and Hydro, Energy Audits, Building Efficiencies, LEEDS and Sustainable Community Development.
Recommended background: Fundamental courses such as ES2800, CE1030, CE3059, CE3070, CE3020 and CE3010.
CHE 230X/ME 230X Nanobiotechnology Laboratory Experience
This course introduces students to current developments and experimental skills in nanoscale bioscience and biotechnology. The advance of nanostructures and nanomaterials for biotechnology applications is reviewed. The properties of nanoscale structures and the selection of nanomaterials for biotechnology applications are discussed. Experimental skills such as nanomaterial synthesis, electron microscopy, and introductory biotechnology techniques are presented. Students will be required to design and execute their own experiments based on supplied objectives. Analysis and presentation of the results will be done through oral and written reports. The course will also provide sufficient training in laboratory technique and data handling so that no previous laboratory experience beyond that of Organic Chemistry I will be assumed.
Topics covered include: fabrication of nanoscale structures, characterization of materials at the nanoscale, determination of biological and mechanical properties of nanostructures, and interactions of biological cells or biomolecules with nanomaterials.
Recommended background: CH 2310. Organic Chemistry I.
CHE 320X Energy Challenges In The 21st Century
The goal of this course is to prepare students for future work in energy-related fields by providing an overview of the challenges related to energy production. Students will study several major energy systems. The details of such energy systems will be examined using engineering principles, particularly focusing on relevant chemical processes. For example, the details and processes of a typical power plant or a refinery will be examined. Students will also become familiar with environmental and economic issues related to energy production. Topics to be covered may include: fossil fuels, the hydrogen economy, biofuels, nuclear energy, fuel cells, batteries, and the electricity grid.
Recommended background: knowledge of chemistry (CH 1010, 1020, 1030), differential and integral calculus, and chemical processes (CHE 2011).
CN 100X, Beginning Chinese I
An intensive course to introduce the Chinese language (Mandarin) to students with no background in Chinese. Emphasis will be on phonetics (using pinyin romanization), tones, grammar, and vocabulary. Oral language acquisition will stress structures and vocabulary required for basic communicative tasks. Cultural aspects of China introduced through course material. First in a sequence of four. This class is not open to native or heritage speakers.
CN110X, Beginning Chinese II
Continuation of CHIN 100X, for non-native, non-heritage speakers. Chinese writing system will be introduced. Second in a sequence of four. Recommended background: CN 100X.
CN120X, Beginning Chinese III
Continuation of CN 110X. Third in a sequence of four. Recommended background: CN 110X. Not open to native or heritage speakers.
CN 200X, Intermediate Chinese I
Course will develop oral fluency, increase character recognition, improve reading and writing, and cultivate a more complex socio-cultural understanding of China. Fourth in a sequence of four. Recommended background: CN 120X. Not open to native or heritage speakers.
ECE 250X Introduction To Contemporary Electric Power Systems
(Cat I)
This course introduces basic concepts underlying the current and future methods of generation, transmission, storage, and use of electric energy. Beginning with an historical overview of the electric power system that has served well for more than 100 years, the course provides an introduction to the fundamental engineering principles needed to understand the design and implementation of traditional as well as modern electric power systems. Energy sources including thermal (combustion, nuclear, geothermal), solar, wind, and chemical (fuel cells) are presented. Important aspects of economic analysis and government regulation are also covered. Finally, the critical roles played by sensor, communications, and security systems will be made clear. Students will engage in substantial project work by which they will gain experience in integration of these many elements in designing and implementing “Smart Grid” systems for the reliable supply of affordable and environmentally benign electric energy.
Recommended background: PH 1120 or 1121 or equivalent
ENV 280X Environmental And Risk Communication
Individuals and communities confronting environmental risks must come to terms with how to adapt to or cope with them. Examples include promotion of more healthy diets and lifestyles, preventing exposures to harmful pollution, how to have less of an impact on environmental resources, and what to do in the face of a disaster. Information is a key to how decisions about what to do are shaped, influencing both perceptions of risks and understanding of what might be done about them. Communication of this information comes in many forms and involves many different actors, including government agencies, the media, friends, and family. In this course we will explore how information about risks and the environment is processed and evaluated and how communication influences attitudes and behaviors about risks and the environment. We will draw on interpersonal, group, organizational, and mass communication theories and a wide range of examples to explore these issues.
Recommended background: ENV 1100
ETR 230X Leadership, Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
This course will challenge undergraduate students to see the complexity and multi-disciplinarity of great problems and grand challenges; and it will explore the application of leadership, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in addressing great problems and grand challenges and the role of leadership, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in addressing them. New and emerging technologies create opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs to address great problems and grand challenges. In addition, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial organizations – by developing innovative products and services -- can compete more effectively in established markets and can create new markets.
The perspective will be developed through student engagement in a variety of learning experiences:
- Discussions and mini-lectures related to assigned readings;
- Case studies (written and video);
- Individual and Team Exercises
- Guest Speakers
FY 180X Discovering Majors and Careers
This course is open to all students who are undecided about or are thinking about changing their academic major. Students will conduct a self assessment utilizing career assessment tools, research majors of interest and career paths, attend academic department presentations, participate in informational interviews, job shadowing and/or company tours. Students will meet individually with Peer Advisors and/or a CDC staff member at least three times throughout the course.
Recommended background: None.
HU 225X Film Studies
This course provides a window into the history and theory of film, and may cover genres from short films, silent films, animated films, documentary films, and experimental films to historical and literary adaptations, science fiction films, screwball comedies, thrillers, and westerns. In addition, attention may be given to representative directors, significant theories of film, national traditions of filmmaking, and recent convergences between film forms and digital media. Directors covered may include D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Yasujiro Ozu, and Ingmar Bergman. Film theorists covered may include Andre Bazin, Stanley Cavell, Sergei Eisenstein, Siegfried Kracauer, and Trinh T. Minh-ha.
IMGD/AR 300X Intermedia Electronic Arts
This course will introduce students to techniques and processes for the creation of real-time, interactive works of art. Students will learn to use electronic sensors and other tools for audio and video processing, as well as designing customized software interfaces to create interactive artworks that respond to users and their environment.
The course will introduce students to the work of significant contemporary arts practitioners as well as their historical precedents, with a special emphasis on inter-media works that bridge visual art, music composition, and the performing arts. Topics may include electronic musical instruments and performance interfaces, VJing, electronically-augmented dance, controller hacking, wired clothing, networked collaboration and mobile media, and algorithmic and generative art.
Recommended Background: AR 1101 (DIGITAL IMAGING AND COMPUTER ART), video production (IMGD 2005 MACHINIMA: FILM MAKING IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS), digital audio/music (MU 3611 COMPUTER TECHNIQUES IN MUSIC, MU 3612 COMPUTERS AND SYNTHESIZERS IN MUSIC, MU 3613 DIGITAL SOUND DESIGN, IMGD 203x INTRO TO GAME AUDIO), an introductory programming course (CS 1101 INTRO TO PROGRAM DESIGN, CS 1102 ACCELERATED INTRO TO PROGRAM DESIGN)
IMGD/AR 320X The Art of Animation II
This course builds upon the techniques learned in AR/IMGD 2201 (The Art of Animation). Students animate a character and put it in an interactive game environment using existing models. Topics include animation principles such as timing, squash and stretch, animation pipelines and applying animation to a real time game setting.
Recommended Background: IMGD 2005 and IMGD/AR 2201.
IMGD 203X Introduction to Game Audio
Game audio includes such topics as: soundscape design, linear vs. interactive soundtracks, real-time mixing and effects processing, bandwidth and CPU limitations, basic audio engine principles, and aesthetic versus technical considerations in audio design. Other topics include asset management, platform development, and the role of the audio designer in a team environment. Students will learn the basics of audio theory and production with practical applications for use in game development.
Lab exercises may include an introduction to audio editing; applying dynamics, equalization, and spatial processing to sounds; mixing and effects techniques; creating and timing sound effects to in-game characters (using footsteps, etc); mixing for cinematic cutscenes; and creating / auditioning audio in a real 3D game environment.
This course assumes no prior knowledge of audio production, but assumes a basic familiarity with game design and development principles.
This course satisfies the IMGD Computer Music distribution requirement.
Recommended background: IMGD 1000 Critical Studies of Interactive Media and Games, and IMGD 1001 The Game Development Process.
IMGD 302X DIGITAL GAME DESIGN II
This team-oriented, project-based course will provide opportunities for students to deepen their experience and understanding of digital game design concepts through a combination of practical implementation, play-testing, in-class game critique and assigned readings.
Students will prepare design treatments, develop hands-on expertise with one or more game engines, and keep a weekly journal of their reading and design experiences. A final project will test their creativity and demonstrate their practical mastery of game engine technology.
Recommended background: IMGD 1000, Critical Studies of Interactive Media and Games; IMGD 1001, The Game Development Process; IMGD 202X, Digital Game Design
IMGD 303X Audio Design for Games and Interactive Media
This course will establish crucial theory and skills needed to design state-of-the art digital audio for various applications in games, machinima, cinematics, podcasting, handheld devices, and more. Students will work individually and as teams to create, process, and deliver custom digital audio content for use in their assignments and projects, learning industry best practices.
Topics include a review of analog and digital audio theory; audio file formats; recording principles; and more advanced postproduction skills in multi-track editing, mixing, dynamics, effects processing, and spatialization.
Lab exercises include practical recording sessions (dialogue, field work, sound effects creation); loop-based music production; building and maintaining a custom sound effects library; multi-track postproduction; audio pipelines; and implementation using an interactive engine.
Recommended background: IMGD 203X, Intro to Game Audio
IMGD 311X / AR 301X 3D MODELING II
This course will build upon the skills learned in AR/IMGD 2101 with studies in life drawing/anatomy study and application towards completed character models. Students create high resolution sculpts for real time game environments and animation. Topics covered include character design as it applies to 3D modeling, creating realistic design sculpts and incorporating them into a game environment as well as the study of anatomy as it applies to organic modeling.
Recommended Background: AR/IMGD 2101, AR 2202.
MA143X Calculus III: A Theoretical Approach
This course will cover the same material as MA1023 but from a different perspective. A more rigorous study of sequences and series will be undertaken: starting from the least upper bound property in R, the fundamental theorems for convergent series will be proved. From there, convergence criteria for series will also be rigorously justified. L'Hopital's rule will also be introduced and proved. Homework problems will include a blend of computational exercises as usually assigned in MA1023, and problems with a stronger theoretical flavor.
Recommended background: MA1021 and 1022 or equivalent.
Note: credit will not be given for both MA1023 and MA143X .
MA144X Calculus IV: A Theoretical Approach
This course will cover the same material as in MA1024 from a more mathematically rigorous perspective. The course will start with the rigorous introduction of differentiation and integration for functions of one variable. After introducing vector functions, differentiation and integration will be extended to functions of several variables.
Recommended background: MA143X.
Note: credit will not be given for both MA1024 and MA144X.
MA 197X Bridge to Higher Mathematics
Cat. I.
This course is an introduction to mathematical thinking aimed not only at the beginning mathematical sciences or actuarial mathematics major, but also at students seeking to further their mathematical interests and those simply curious about mathematical logic and reason.
Students in the course will learn to explain, justify, defend, disprove, conjecture and verify, both verbally and in writing, mathematical ideas.
Recommended background: at least 2/3 unit of mathematics
ME230X Nanobiotechnology Laboratory Experience
This course introduces students to current developments and experimental skills in nanoscale bioscience and biotechnology. The advance of nanostructures and nanomaterials for biotechnology applications is reviewed. The properties of nanoscale structures and the selection of nanomaterials for biotechnology applications are discussed. Experimental skills such as nanomaterial synthesis, electron microscopy, and introductory biotechnology techniques are presented. Students will be required to design and execute their own experiments based on supplied objectives. Analysis and presentation of the results will be done through oral and written reports. The course will also provide sufficient training in laboratory technique and data handling so that no previous laboratory experience beyond that of Organic Chemistry I will be assumed.
Topics covered include: fabrication of nanoscale structures, characterization of materials at the nanoscale, determination of biological and mechanical properties of nanostructures, and interactions of biological cells or biomolecules with nanomaterials.
Recommended background: CH 2310. Organic Chemistry I.
SD150X. Serious Games
This course addresses the theory and practice of developing solutions to social and environmental problems through interaction with “serious games,” computer simulation games designed to promote learning and improve decision making. By interacting with a selection of games and case studies, students will learn to recognize the systemic causes of complex social and environmental problems and gain experience developing and using simulations to test policies for creating sustainable futures. Special attention will be given to appropriate modeling practices and the design of simulation experiments, as well as the underlying theories of learning from simulation. The course is run in a laboratory format in which students work in groups to develop simulation models and present them to the class for feedback before they revise and refine their work iteratively for final evaluation.
SOC 123X American Society And Diversity: An Introduction To Sociology
This course provides a broad overview of how sociologists analyze and interpret the social structure and culture of American Society, with special attention to issues of social and cultural diversity. Goals include achieving a culturally relative rather than ethnocentric stance on diversity and moving toward having a “sociological imagination”. Topics will include but not be limited to socialization, social organization, deviance, gender, ethnicity, stratification, and political economy. These topics will be examined from a variety of perspectives as each student will read and discuss a first person account on life in America from the perspective of a Native American, African American, Hispanic American, Asian American and possibly members of other social groups. The class will examine one social problem in detail (e.g., crime, access to health care, environmental justice) that differentially impacts various social and ethnic groups.
Students may not receive credit for both SOC123X and SOC1202.
SOC124X Introduction To Comparitive Sociology And Globalization
This course provides a broad introduction to the field of comparative sociology, with special attention to issues of modernization and globalization. Topics will include cultural relativity, ethnocentrism, and the causes and consequences of global inequality. These topics will be examined statistically and through historical and modern accounts by people in changing societies.
The course is especially suitable for students planning overseas projects and devotes considerable attention to research strategy. The emphasis is on comparisons of characteristics of whole societies. Modernization is associated with growth in the size and complexity of societies as well as their relative wealth, power, and prevailing ideologies.
Students may not receive credit for bot h SOC124X and SOC1202.
SOC 221X LEARNING STYLES, CREATIVITY AND TEAMWORK
Cat. II
In this course psychological concepts developed to study personality and creativity connect with concepts from the sociology of education and the study of innovation. The result is a psycho-sociological perspective on “learning styles” as they affect both individual and active cooperative learning in small groups. Several different measures of learning style will be discussed in this course, including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Gordon-Mednick Cognitive Style Indicator, and others. Applications of these measures to a variety of outcomes will be examined, including SAT scores, high school achievement tests, career and major choices, student reactions to courses, texts, and programs, 4-year graduation rates, graduation with honors, and team formation in college and the workplace. The course culminates in a final team project that will take the form of a proposal writing exercise to recommend changes to a public school system or college on how to best serve different kinds of learners.
