Two New Courses Approved
02/17/2009
Two courses that were proposed by Professors Narayanaswamy and Liao were recently approved by the Department and subsequently approved by the Committee on Instruction (COI) of School of Engineering and Applied Science. We plan to offer these courses in the Fall of 2009.
Nano/Microscale Thermal Transport Processes (MECE E6720)
This course focuses on the nano and microscale origins of thermal transport phenomena by molecules, electrons, phonons, and photons. Topics include quantum mechanics, statistical physics, density of states, kinetic theory of gases, Boltzmann transport equation (BTE), classical and quantum size effects, Landauer formalism for transport in nanostructures, and macroscopic constitutive equations from BTE. The course includes application to electronics cooling, thermoelectric and thermophotovoltaic devices, and energy conversion.
Instructor: Arvind Narayanaswamy
Molecular Mechanics in Biology (MEBM E4703)
This course focuses on the mechanical understanding of biological structures including proteins, DNA and RNA in cells and tissues. Topics include force response of proteins and DNA, mechanics of membranes, biophysics of molecular motors, mechanics of protein-protein interactions. The course includes an introduction to modeling and simulation techniques, and modern biophysical techniques such as single molecule FRET, optical traps, AFM, and super-resolution imaging, for understanding molecular mechanics and dynamics.
Instructor: Jung-Chi Liao