Chemistry in Society

From artificial sweeteners in diet soft drinks to batteries in electric cars, chemistry is integral to our everyday lives. This course investigates chemistry as a means to solving real-world problems. You’ll learn about the periodic table, atomic structure, and chemical bonding. In the lab, you and your classmates will investigate solubility, test water samples to identify potential toxins, and participate in a simulation of a town hall meeting to debate how to preserve a community water source. Working in a lab, you’ll learn how chemistry is used to improve the world around us.

Laws and Orders: Legal Systems Around the World

Significant legal differences among countries still exist, despite the spread of global culture. For example, what is considered free speech in one country may land a person in jail in another country. This course examines issues like these while introducing you to comparative law, the study of legal systems’ similarities and differences. We’ll explore the legitimacy of law and punishment, the roles of courts and police, and fields such as criminal and environmental law.

Arduino® Prototyping

What do punch-activated flamethrowers, automatic pet feeders, and mind-controlled drones have in common? They’re all real devices built and programmed using Arduino® microprocessors. This open-source electronics platform integrates hardware and software to create an unlimited array of automated electronic systems.

Discover what a digital prototyping platform can accomplish as you work on creating devices that undertake tasks such as reading data from a sensor or activating lights based on motion and proximity.

Introduction to Complex Analysis

This course will introduce you to the theory of functions of a complex variable—a core area of mathematics. We will also cover complex numbers and their properties, analytic functions and the Cauchy-Riemann equations, the logarithm and other elementary functions of a complex variable, integration of complex functions, the Cauchy integral theorem, the residue theorem, and applications to definite integrals. Definitions and proofs are used throughout the course to establish fundamental results in complex analysis.

Principles of Engineering Design

Humanity’s unending quest to find the most efficient and cost-effective means to make life better has created engineering marvels—from the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, to the world’s fastest commercial train, the Shanghai Maglev. In this course, you and your classmates will work primarily in teams to solve real-world and simulated engineering problems.

Young Adult Readers: A Study of Sherlock

Journey to Victorian England, where mysterious figures and deceptive disguises abound on and around Baker Street. You’ll join iconic detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusty assistant, Dr. Watson, as they follow clues and attempt to solve complex crimes. You’ll read two of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic novels, as well as various short stories, including three pastiches inspired by the original works, one of which takes our protagonists to Japan.

Engineering Design

Engineering design is a rich, sometimes chaotic blend of concerns: aesthetic, financial, material, theoretical, environmental, and practical. Explore elements of design theory while responding to a batch of requests for proposals (RFPs) based on real-world situations.

Elements of design theory include the history of invention; the role of teamwork and communication; logistical and financial constraints; safety and environmental concerns; and consumer demand.

Introduction to Robotics

In the field of robotics, computer science and engineering interface to create interdependent systems that can perform a variety of tasks, from manufacturing microchips to exploring Mars. In this course, we’ll learn computer science concepts and explore topics such as algorithms, sequential control flow, and Boolean operators. We’ll survey basic principles of physics and mechanical engineering, such as simple machines and locomotion, and of electrical engineering, such as circuits and sensor feedback.

Project Mars

You and your classmates take on the role of intrepid interplanetary explorers, designing a space probe, learning about the complexity of landing an exploration vehicle, and planning a Martian colony. For decades, scientists have looked to Mars as an untapped resource, possibly holding clues to the origin of the solar system as well as the potential for future colonization. Numerous autonomous satellites and rovers have been sent to the red planet, and with each successful mission we learn more about our most accessible celestial neighbor.

Diagnosis: Be the Doctor

Doctors often have to make quick decisions based on their knowledge, experience, and a short list of symptoms—it’s not so easy to always get it right, and lives are often on the line.

Drawing upon basic biological and chemical concepts, explore the intricate anatomical and physiological mechanisms underlying human function.