Online courses directory (2511)

This course is an introduction to arithmetic geometry, a subject that lies at the intersection of algebraic geometry and number theory. Its primary motivation is the study of classical Diophantine problems from the modern perspective of algebraic geometry.

This course provides an overview of Asian American history and its relevance for contemporary issues. It covers the first wave of Asian immigration in the 19^th century, the rise of anti-Asian movements, the experiences of Asian Americans during WWII, the emergence of the Asian American movement in the 1960s, and the new wave of post–1965 Asian immigration. The class examines the role these experiences played in the formation of Asian American ethnicity. The course addresses key societal issues such as racial stereotyping, media racism, affirmative action, the glass ceiling, the "model minority" syndrome, and anti-Asian harassment or violence. The course is taught in English.

This course provides an overview of Asian American history and its relevance for contemporary issues. It covers the first wave of Asian immigration in the 19^th century, the rise of anti-Asian movements, the experiences of Asian Americans during WWII, the emergence of the Asian American movement in the 1960s, and the new wave of post–1965 Asian immigration. The class examines the role these experiences played in the formation of Asian American ethnicity. The course addresses key societal issues such as racial stereotyping, media racism, affirmative action, the glass ceiling, the "model minority" syndrome, and anti-Asian harassment or violence. The course is taught in English.

Introduction to Astronomy provides a quantitative introduction to the physics of the solar system, stars, the interstellar medium, the galaxy, and the universe, as determined from a variety of astronomical observations and models.

Bioengineering at MIT is represented by the diverse curricula offered by most Departments in the School of Engineering. This course samples the wide variety of bioengineering options for students who plan to major in one of the undergraduate Engineering degree programs. The beginning lectures describe the science basis for bioengineering with particular emphasis on molecular cell biology and systems biology. Bioengineering faculty will then describe the bioengineering options in a particular engineering course as well as the type of research conducted by faculty in the department.

This class is a project-based introduction to the engineering of synthetic biological systems. Throughout the term, students develop projects that are responsive to real-world problems of their choosing, and whose solutions depend on biological technologies. Lectures, discussions, and studio exercises will introduce (1) components and control of prokaryotic and eukaryotic behavior, (2) DNA synthesis, standards, and abstraction in biological engineering, and (3) issues of human practice, including biological safety; security; ownership, sharing, and innovation; and ethics. Enrollment preference is given to freshmen.

This subject was originally developed and first taught in Spring 2008 by Drew Endy and Natalie Kuldell. Many of Drew's materials are used in this Spring 2009 version, and are included with his permission.

This OCW Web site is based on the OpenWetWare class Wiki, found at OpenWetWare: 20.020 (S09)

The MIT Biology Department core courses, 7.012, 7.013, and 7.014, all cover the same core material, which includes the fundamental principles of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. Biological function at the molecular level is particularly emphasized and covers the structure and regulation of genes, as well as, the structure and synthesis of proteins, how these molecules are integrated into cells, and how these cells are integrated into multicellular systems and organisms. In addition, each version of the subject has its own distinctive material.

7.012 focuses on the exploration of current research in cell biology, immunology, neurobiology, genomics, and molecular medicine.

Acknowledgments

The study materials, problem sets, and quiz materials used during Fall 2004 for 7.012 include contributions from past instructors, teaching assistants, and other members of the MIT Biology Department affiliated with course #7.012. Since the following works have evolved over a period of many years, no single source can be attributed.

The course aims at providing a fundamental understanding of the physics related to buildings and to propose an overview of the various issues that have to be adequately combined to offer the occupants a physical, functional and psychological well-being. Students will be guided through the different components, constraints and systems of a work of architecture. These will be examined both independently and in the manner in which they interact and affect one another.

Ever hang your head in shame after your Python program wasn't as fast as your friend's C program? Ever wish you could use objects without having to use Java? Join us for this fun introduction to C and C++! We will take you through a tour that will start with writing simple C programs, go deep into the caves of C memory manipulation, resurface with an introduction to using C++ classes, dive deeper into advanced C++ class use and the C++ Standard Template Libraries. We'll wrap up by teaching you some tricks of the trade that you may need for tech interviews.

We see this as a "C/C++ empowerment" course: we want you to come away understanding

1. why you would want to use C over another language (control over memory, probably for performance reasons),
2. why you would want to use C++ rather than C (objects), and
3. how to be useful in C and C++.

This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

This is a fast-paced introductory course to the C++ programming language. It is intended for those with little programming background, though prior programming experience will make it easier, and those with previous experience will still learn C++-specific constructs and concepts.

This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

This course examines civic media in comparative, transnational and historical perspectives through the use of various theoretical tools, research approaches, and project design methods.

This course examines civic media in comparative, transnational and historical perspectives through the use of various theoretical tools, research approaches, and project design methods.

In this sophomore design course, you will be challenged with three design tasks: a first concerning water resources/treatment, a second concerning structural design, and a third focusing on the conceptual (re)design of a large system, Boston's Back Bay. The first two tasks require the design, fabrication and testing of hardware. Several laboratory experiments will be carried out and lectures will be presented to introduce students to the conceptual and experimental basis for design in both domains.

This course was based in large part on the Fall 2005 offering of 1.101, developed by Prof. Harold Hemond.

1.012 introduces students to the theory, tools, and techniques of engineering design and creative problem-solving, as well as design issues and practices in civil engineering. The course includes several design cases, with an emphasis on built facilities (e.g., buildings, bridges and roads). Project design explicitly concerns technical approaches as well as consideration of the existing built environment, natural environment, economic and social factors, and expected life span. A large design case is introduced, which is used in the subsequent specialty area design subjects (1.031, 1.041, 1.051) and the capstone design subject (1.013).

This course examines signals, systems and inference as unifying themes in communication, control and signal processing. Topics include input-output and state-space models of linear systems driven by deterministic and random signals; time- and transform-domain representations in discrete and continuous time; group delay; state feedback and observers; probabilistic models; stochastic processes, correlation functions, power spectra, spectral factorization; least-mean square error estimation; Wiener filtering; hypothesis testing; detection; matched filters.

This course examines why democracy emerges and survives in some countries rather than in others; how political institutions affect economic development; and how American politics compares to that of other countries.

This course introduces the basic computational methods used to understand the cell on a molecular level. It covers subjects such as the sequence alignment algorithms: dynamic programming, hashing, suffix trees, and Gibbs sampling. Furthermore, it focuses on computational approaches to: genetic and physical mapping; genome sequencing, assembly, and annotation; RNA expression and secondary structure; protein structure and folding; and molecular interactions and dynamics.

This course gives a mathematical introduction to neural coding and dynamics. Topics include convolution, correlation, linear systems, game theory, signal detection theory, probability theory, information theory, and reinforcement learning. Applications to neural coding, focusing on the visual system are covered, as well as Hodgkin-Huxley and other related models of neural excitability, stochastic models of ion channels, cable theory, and models of synaptic transmission.

Visit the Seung Lab Web site.

This course gives a mathematical introduction to neural coding and dynamics. Topics include convolution, correlation, linear systems, game theory, signal detection theory, probability theory, information theory, and reinforcement learning. Applications to neural coding, focusing on the visual system are covered, as well as Hodgkin-Huxley and other related models of neural excitability, stochastic models of ion channels, cable theory, and models of synaptic transmission.

Visit the Seung Lab Web site.

This course gives a mathematical introduction to neural coding and dynamics. Topics include convolution, correlation, linear systems, game theory, signal detection theory, probability theory, information theory, and reinforcement learning. Applications to neural coding, focusing on the visual system are covered, as well as Hodgkin-Huxley and other related models of neural excitability, stochastic models of ion channels, cable theory, and models of synaptic transmission.

Visit the Seung Lab Web site.