Online courses directory (19947)

6.811: Principles and Practice of Assistive Technology (PPAT) is an interdisciplinary, project-based course, centered around a design project in which small teams of students work closely with a person with a disability in the Cambridge area to design a device, piece of equipment, app, or other solution that helps them live more independently.

This course serves as a description and critical assessment of the major issues and stages of developing a pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical. Topics covered include drug discovery, preclinical development, clinical investigation, manufacturing and regulatory issues considered for small and large molecules, and economic and financial considerations of the drug development process. A multidisciplinary perspective is provided by the faculty, who represent clinical, life, and management sciences. Various industry guests also participate.

This course serves as a description and critical assessment of the major issues and stages of developing a pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical. Topics covered include drug discovery, preclinical development, clinical investigation, manufacturing and regulatory issues considered for small and large molecules, and economic and financial considerations of the drug development process. A multidisciplinary perspective is provided by the faculty, who represent clinical, life, and management sciences. Various industry guests also participate.

This course serves as a description and critical assessment of the major issues and stages of developing a pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical. Topics covered include drug discovery, preclinical development, clinical investigation, manufacturing and regulatory issues considered for small and large molecules, and economic and financial considerations of the drug development process. A multidisciplinary perspective is provided by the faculty, who represent clinical, life, and management sciences. Various industry guests also participate.

This course helps in developing skills as science communicators through projects and analysis of theoretical principles. Case studies explore the emergence of popular science communication over the past two centuries and consider the relationships among authors, audiences and media. Project topics are identified early in the term and students work with MIT Museum staff. Projects may include physical exhibits, practical demonstrations, or scripts for public programs.

The principles and practice of tissue engineering (and regenerative medicine) are taught by faculty of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. The principles underlying strategies for employing selected cells, biomaterial scaffolds, soluble regulators or their genes, and mechanical loading and culture conditions, for the regeneration of tissues and organs in vitro and in vivo are addressed. Differentiated cell types and stem cells are compared and contrasted for this application, as are natural and synthetic scaffolds. Methodology for the preparation of cells and scaffolds in practice is described. The rationale for employing selected growth factors is covered and the techniques for incorporating their genes into the scaffolds are examined. Discussion also addresses the influence of environmental factors including mechanical loading and culture conditions (e.g., static versus dynamic). Methods for fabricating tissue-engineered products and devices for implantation are taught. Examples of tissue engineering-based procedures currently employed clinically are analyzed as case studies.

Archived webcast lecture videos for the Fall 2008 version of this class can be found at the HST.535 Fall 2008 website.

Principles of Applied Mathematics is a study of illustrative topics in discrete applied mathematics including sorting algorithms, information theory, coding theory, secret codes, generating functions, linear programming, game theory. There is an emphasis on topics that have direct application in the real world.

This course was recently revised to meet the MIT Undergraduate Communication Requirement (CR). It covers the same content as 18.310, but assignments are structured with an additional focus on writing.

18.311 Principles of Continuum Applied Mathematics covers fundamental concepts in continuous applied mathematics, including applications from traffic flow, fluids, elasticity, granular flows, etc. The class also covers continuum limit; conservation laws, quasi-equilibrium; kinematic waves; characteristics, simple waves, shocks; diffusion (linear and nonlinear); numerical solution of wave equations; finite differences, consistency, stability; discrete and fast Fourier transforms; spectral methods; transforms and series (Fourier, Laplace). Additional topics may include sonic booms, Mach cone, caustics, lattices, dispersion, and group velocity.