This project-based course will introduce the physical concepts that can be applied to various human athletic endeavors. Students will focus on analyzing the dynamics of a specific sport/ physical activity through a project that they develop. This will allow students to construct physical models with an increasing level of realism that can used to analyze sporting events. Mathematics is the language of physics, and its use will be ever-present throughout the semester. However, we will focus more on the application of the laws of physics to understand the world of athletics. Students will learn the use of motion trackers and sensors to analyze motion in its dynamical and kinematic aspects.

Microorganisms produce a diverse array of specialized small molecules as part of their metabolic processes. In this course we will study the production, properties, and characterization of these molecules through the lens of food fermentation. In particular, we will focus on the small molecules that contribute taste and aroma in fermented foods. Students will experience the scientific inquiry process in a creative way by designing and implementing their own research project based on a fermented food of their choosing. Still a field with much potential for discovery, interested students are invited to continue their research project in the summer.

This course provides students with an understanding of the complexities surrounding today’s most intractable problems and helps them develop methodologies for navigating the challenges they will face. After introducing systems thinking, with a focus on interconnections and feedback loops, the course will address a significant interdisciplinary issue: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its relationship to human cognition.

The study of AI and human cognition is both timely and dynamic. This expansive domain integrates computer science, statistics, big data, cognitive science, psychology, and philosophy. As a transformative technology, AI has achieved remarkable success in understanding natural language and emulating human reasoning, making it invaluable in augmenting human cognition.

Despite these advances, many questions remain about the nature of AI and its relationship with human thought. This course invites participants to explore these questions through an intellectual journey. Students will engage in discussions on systems and paradigms, the essence of intelligence, computational approaches, mind and machine metaphors, cognitive biases in AI, and the role of AI in creativity and intuition.

The course emphasizes collaborative learning, with students working in teams to learn from each other, as well as from lectures and selected literature. Each lecture will be paired with research papers and books, followed by a discussion session.

The topics covered in the course are listed in the syllabus. Each will include an overview of the issue and its significance. Students will apply systems thinking and a multidisciplinary approach to analyze and critique each topic. By the end of the course, students will have developed a strong framework for multidisciplinary discussions, gained a deep understanding of AI’s power, limitations, and risks, and explored its technical building blocks through hands-on exercises. Additionally, students will experience the value of collaboration and the importance of diversity while working in diverse teams.

An introductory course in the design, fabrication, and assembly of mechanical and electromechanical devices. Topics include: Engineering graphics and tolerances; Structural design and material selection; Machine elements and two-dimensional mechanisms; DC motors; Design methodology. Emphasis on hands-on work and team design projects using professional solid modeling CAD software and numerically controlled machine tools.

An introductory course in the design, fabrication, and assembly of mechanical and electromechanical devices. Topics include: Engineering graphics and tolerances; Structural design and material selection; Machine elements and two-dimensional mechanisms; DC motors; Design methodology. Emphasis on hands-on work and team design projects using professional solid modeling CAD software and numerically controlled machine tools.

Guided reading and research.

Guided reading and research.

Entrepreneurship is increasingly transforming our society and economy. This course aims to provide for undergraduates an introduction to entrepreneurship and its implications for innovation. The class will primarily consist of case study discussions, but will include some traditional lecture sessions that build on academic papers to provide more frameworks. As such, it draws primarily on materials from the introductory MBA course at Harvard Business School, “The Entrepreneurial Manager” (TEM). Students will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss the cases.

Entrepreneurship is increasingly transforming our society and economy. This course aims to provide for undergraduates an introduction to entrepreneurship and its implications for innovation. The class will primarily consist of case study discussions, but will include some traditional lecture sessions that build on academic papers to provide more frameworks. As such, it draws primarily on materials from the introductory MBA course at Harvard Business School, “The Entrepreneurial Manager” (TEM). Students will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss the cases.

Students do field-based work in entrepreneurship to develop their existing startup and explore new ideas and opportunities for startup creation. The course is for student-founders seeking to advance their innovation experience in a supportive community of peer founders. Students may work individually; teams with a working history are preferred. Requires self-directed, independent work and active outreach to mentors, customers, and partners for guidance and feedback in addition to that provided by the instructor and teaching staff.  Students share their work regularly and engage in a peer-to-peer feedback forum. Coursework is customized to the needs of each student and their startup role and includes development of product, technology, market, business, organization and leadership. See: https://tech.seas.harvard.edu/rad to apply for instructor permission to enroll.

Students do field-based work in entrepreneurship to develop their existing startup and explore new ideas and opportunities for startup creation. The course is for student-founders seeking to advance their innovation experience in a supportive community of peer founders. Students may work individually; teams with a working history are preferred. Requires self-directed, independent work and active outreach to mentors, customers, and partners for guidance and feedback in addition to that provided by the instructor and teaching staff.  Students share their work regularly and engage in a peer-to-peer feedback forum. Coursework is customized to the needs of each student and their startup role and includes development of product, technology, market, business, organization and leadership. See: https://tech.seas.harvard.edu/rad to apply for instructor permission to enroll.

Semester-long team-based project providing experience working with clients on complex multi-stakeholders real problems. Course provides exposure to problem definition, problem framing, qualitative and quantitative research methods, modeling, generation and co-design of creative solutions, engineering design trade-offs, and documentation/communication skills. Ordinarily taken in the junior year.

Semester-long team-based project providing experience working with clients on complex multi-stakeholders real problems. Course provides exposure to problem definition, problem framing, qualitative and quantitative research methods, modeling, generation and co-design of creative solutions, engineering design trade-offs, and documentation/communication skills. Ordinarily taken in the junior year.

Individual engineering design projects which demonstrate mastery of engineering knowledge and techniques. Each student will pursue an appropriate capstone project which involves both engineering design and quantitative analysis. This culminates in a final oral presentation and final report/thesis. Students must complete both parts of this course, fall and spring, in order to receive credit.

Individual engineering design projects which demonstrate mastery of engineering knowledge and techniques. Each student will pursue an appropriate capstone project which involves both engineering design and quantitative analysis. This culminates in a final oral presentation and final report/thesis. Students must complete both parts of this course, fall and spring, in order to receive credit.

Multi-year long team projects that provide an engineering experience working with partner communities on real-world problems. Projects provide exposure to problem definition, quantitative analysis, modeling, generation of creative solutions utilizing appropriate technology, engineering design trade-offs, and documentation/communication skills. These projects will be implemented with our project partners after the appropriate design and approvals have been obtained.

Multi-year long team projects that provide an engineering experience working with partner communities on real-world problems. Projects provide exposure to problem definition, quantitative analysis, modeling, generation of creative solutions utilizing appropriate technology, engineering design trade-offs, and documentation/communication skills. These projects will be implemented with our project partners after the appropriate design and approvals have been obtained.

A first course in the mechanical sciences that introduces elements of continuum mechanics and explains how materials and structures stretch, bend, twist, shake, buckle, and break. Definitions of stress and strain. Strain-displacement relations. Stress-strain behavior of materials. Torsion, beam theory with applications to beam deflections, buckling, and energy methods. Statically determinate and indeterminate structures. Three laboratory sessions required. Strong emphasis on analytical skills and mathematics.

Atomistic-Mesoscale-Continuum Fluids and Flows; Dimensional Analysis; Diffusion and Heat Transfer Processes; Fluid kinematics; Eulerian and Lagrangian descriptions of Flows; Mass conservation and potential flows; Momentum conservation and the Navier-Stokes equations; Vorticity and Vortices; Lift and Drag in Aerodynamics; Flows in Pipes and Channels; Elementary concepts of Turbulent flows.

Modeling and analysis of mechanical systems. Topics include 3D rigid body dynamics, resonance, damping, frequency response, Laplace transform methods, Lagrange's equations, multiple degree-of-freedom systems and an introduction to control and continuous systems. Analytical modeling will be supplemented with numerical simulations and lab experiments. Laboratory exercises will explore vibration, and stabilization using data acquisition systems.

Introduction to finite element methods for analysis of steady-state and transient problems in solid and structural mechanics. Implementation of simple MATLAB codes and use of existing general-purpose software (ABAQUS). Final project offers opportunities to extend focus to fluid mechanics and heat transfer and to explore additional software (e.g. COMSOL, FEniCS), if desired.

This class integrates perspectives from leading innovators with collaborative practice and theory of innovation to teach and inspire you to be more innovative in your life and career. Our approach is to engage with leaders and learn their perspectives and align this with innovation sprints where you learn the best tools, processes, and methods to innovate. You can see a course overview here https://youtu.be/CqfvXf33TCE.  Find out more information on Instagram @engsci139 or https://www.instagram.com/engsci139/

Introduction to computer-controlled robotic manipulators. Topics include coordinate frames and transformations, forward and inverse kinematic solutions to open-chain manipulators, the Jacobian, dynamics and control, and motion planning. In addition, special topics will be introduced such as computer vision, soft robotics, surgical robots, MEMS and microrobotics, and biomimetic systems. Laboratory exercises will provide experience with industrial robot programming and robot simulation and control.

Introduction to classical engineering thermodynamics. Topics: Zeroth Law and temperature. Properties of single-component gases, liquids, and solids. Equations of state for ideal and simple nonideal substances. First Law, heat and heat transfer, work, internal energy, enthalpy. Second Law, Third Law, entropy, free energy, exergy. Heat engines and important engineering applications such as refrigerators, power cycles. Properties and simple models of solutions. Phase and chemical equilibrium in multicomponent systems; chemical potential. Electrochemistry, batteries, fuel cells. Laboratory included.

The macroscopic description of the fundamentals of heat transfer and their application to practical problems in energy conversion, electronics and living systems with an emphasis on developing a physical and analytical understanding of conductive, convective and radiative heat transfer. Emphasis will be given to problem solving skills based on applying governing principles, mathematical models and physical intuition.

Topics include: steady state heat conduction in 1, 2 and 3D; transient heat conduction in 1D and 3D; introduction to convective heat transfer, forced convection as well as free convection; heat exchange analysis and design; elements of radiative heat transfer. There will be an emphasis on physical basis of heat transfer with mathematical description where appropriate, as well as using commercially available computer COMSOL software. Course includes (i) classes and problem sets, (ii) COMSOL simulations and (iii) a semester-long, multi-disciplinary team project.

The repertory of materials available to engineers today and embodied in engineering systems includes tens of thousands of different materials, as well as naturally occurring ones. This course addresses why specific materials are selected for particular applications and the rational basis for their selection. The course is intended to serve as an introduction to the principles and methodology of selecting materials for engineering components based on the functionality and purpose of the component in different system applications and operating environments. The selection specification includes satisfying a variety of objectives, such as minimizing weight, cost (financial as well as environmental), end of life recycling and material scarcity.

This course is an introduction to the foundations of quantum mechanics, with specific focus on the basic principles involved in the control of quantum systems. Experimental foundations of quantum mechanics. Superposition principle, Schrödinger’s equation, eigenvalue and time dependent problems, wave packets, coherent states; uncertainty principle. One dimensional problems: double well potentials, tunneling and resonant tunneling; WKB approximation. Hermitian operators and expectation values; time evolution and Hamiltonian, commutation rules, transfer matrix methods. Crystals, Bloch theorem, superlattices. Angular momentum, spin, Pauli matrices. Coherent interaction of light with two-level systems. Quantization of the EM field, spontaneous and stimulated emission; qubits, entanglement, teleportation.

This course is primarily designed for graduate students, with the goal of covering the fundamental aspects of fluid dynamics and will cover: continuum mechanics, kinematics, and constitutive equation; Eulerian/Lagrangian points of view; hydrostatics; inviscid flows, Euler's equation and Bernoulli integral; Reynolds transport theorem and control volume analysis of conservation equations (mass, momentum, energy); Navier-Stokes equations; dimensional analysis and scaling; potential flows; vorticity and circulation; low Reynolds number flows and lubrication theory; boundary layer theory, airfoils, lift, drag, separation; introduction to turbulence.

Introduction to finite element methods for analysis of steady-state and transient problems in solid and structural mechanics. Implementation of simple MATLAB codes and use of existing general-purpose software (ABAQUS). Final project offers opportunities to extend focus to fluid mechanics and heat transfer and to explore additional software (e.g. COMSOL, FEniCS), if desired.

Principles governing energy generation and interconversion. Current and projected world energy use. Selected important current and anticipated future technologies for energy generation, interconversion, storage, and end usage.

Principles governing energy generation and interconversion. Current and projected world energy use. Selected important current and anticipated future technologies for energy generation, interconversion, storage, and end usage.

This class integrates perspectives from leading innovators with collaborative practice and theory of innovation to teach and inspire you to be more innovative in your life and career. Our approach is to engage with leaders and learn their perspectives and align this with innovation sprints where you learn the best tools, processes, and methods to innovate. You can see a course overview here https://youtu.be/CqfvXf33TCE.  Find out more information on Instagram @engsci139 or https://www.instagram.com/engsci139/

Students are expected to meet all the requirements of Engineering Sciences 139 and in addition are required to prepare an individual term project with significant analytic emphasis in an area of scientific or technological innovation.

Foundations of solid mechanics, development of elasticity theory, and introduction to  linear visco-elasticity and plasticity. Basic elasticity solutions. Variational principles. Deformation of plates. Introduction to large deformation.

Fundamentals of fracture with applications in materials and structural mechanics. Micromechanics of fracture in ceramics, metals, and polymers. Fracture of composite materials. Interfacial fracture mechanics. Fatigue crack propagation.

A graduate seminar course on advanced topics in robotics research. Students read and present research papers and undertake a research project.

This course teaches how to create original robotic devices made of light, compliant – informal – materials.

New fabrication techniques are transforming the field of robotics. Rather than rigid parts connected by mechanical connectors, robots can now be made of folded paper, carbon laminates or soft gels. They can be formed fully integrated from a 3D printer rather than assembled from individual components. Informal Robotics draws on cutting-edge research from leading labs, in particular, Harvard’s Micro Robotics Laboratory which has created unique designs for ambulatory and flying robots, end-effectors, medical instruments and other applications.

We will explore informal robotics from multiple perspectives, culminating with the design of original devices displaying animated intelligence in real-time. Going beyond traditional engineering approaches, we will also explore new opportunities for design at the product, architectural, and urban scales.

Techniques:
Hands-on:  Working with the GSD’s Fab Lab we are creating a kit of parts that will be available to all enrolled students. With the kit, you can create a wide range of folding mechanisms controlled by on-board miniature electronics.
Software / Simulation: Software workshops will be offered on Fusion 360 and Grasshopper to simulate robotic performance within a virtual environment.

Topics:
- Kinematics: design techniques for pop-ups, origami, and soft mechanisms.
- Fabrication: methods: for composite materials, laminated assembly, self-folding, and integrated flexures - the kit of parts will allow for hands-on exploration.
- Controls: how to actuate movement and program desired behavior. Topics include servos, linear actuators, and use of Arduino actuator control.
- Applications: takes us beyond purely technological concerns, contextualizing Informal Robotics within larger trends where materials, manufacturing and computation are starting to merge

Introduction to computer-controlled robotic manipulators. Topics include coordinate frames and transformations, forward and inverse kinematic solutions to open-chain manipulators, the Jacobian, dynamics and control, and motion planning. In addition, special topics will be introduced such as computer vision, soft robotics, surgical robots, MEMS and microrobotics, and biomimetic systems. Laboratory exercises will provide experience with industrial robot programming and robot simulation and control.

This class leads students to develop their skills in the critical reading and writing of science and engineering. Genres will include research articles, grant proposals, school/fellowship/job applications, or lay abstracts & press releases for the non-scientific public. Crucially, students will be empowered not only to achieve their own writing goals, but also to break down these learned skills and impart them to others, as effective collaborators and mentors of younger students.

This class leads students to develop their skills in the critical reading and writing of science and engineering. Genres will include research articles, grant proposals, school/fellowship/job applications, or lay abstracts & press releases for the non-scientific public. Crucially, students will be empowered not only to achieve their own writing goals, but also to break down these learned skills and impart them to others, as effective collaborators and mentors of younger students.

This is a SAT/UNSAT seminar course focused on design thinking, analysis, planning, and executing the development of engineered systems. Weekly meetings will include discussions and assigned readings of case studies and examples of the systems surrounding the developing technical system. Organizing and executing research, innovation, and product design at the scales from academic group, to startup, to major industry will be discussed. The course is designed to allow the engineer and designer to integrate technical knowledge into an executable framework as an individual or leader of a design team.

Supervision of experimental or theoretical research on acceptable problems in engineering and applied science and supervision of reading on topics not covered by regular courses of instruction.

Supervision of experimental or theoretical research on acceptable problems in engineering and applied science and supervision of reading on topics not covered by regular courses of instruction.