2017-18 Catalog

Open for credit to freshmen and sophomores. Weekly seminar by a member of the EAS faculty to discuss his or her area of engineering and group's research at an introductory level. The course can be used to learn more about different areas of study within engineering and applied science. Graded pass/fail.

(Seniors required to take E 10 are given priority in registration.) Guidance and practice in organizing and preparing topics for presentation and in speaking with the help of visual aids, including whiteboards and video projectors.

This class provides the opportunity for students to gain experience in technical writing in engineering and applied science. Students will choose a technical topic of interest, possibly based on a previous research or course project, and write a paper in a form that would be appropriate as an engineering report, a technical conference paper, or a peer-reviewed journal paper. The topic of ethical considerations for engineers and scientists as they arise in the publication and peer review process will also be discussed. A Caltech faculty member, a postdoctoral scholar, or technical staff member serves as a technical mentor for each student, to provide feedback on the content and style of the report. Fulfills the Institute scientific writing requirement. Enrollment is limited to students in E&AS options (and PMA options in fourth term) and priority is given to seniors.

This course examines the concepts and practices of maker culture through masterclasses, hands-on engagement, lectures, reading and discussions on the relations between technology, culture and society. Classes may include digital fabrication, physical computing, VR, and other DIY technologies as well as traditional making. Major writings and practitioners' work may be covered from the study of maker culture, DIY culture, media, critical theory, histories of science, design and art.

This course will examine artists' work with new technology, fabrication methods and media from the late 19th Century to the present. Major artists, exhibitions, and writings of the period will be surveyed. While considering this historical and critical context, students will create their own original new media artworks using technologies and/or fabrication methods they choose. Possible approaches to projects may involve robotics, electronics, computer programming, computer graphics, mechanics and other technologies. Students will be responsible for designing and fabricating their own projects. Topics may include systems in art, the influence of industrialism, digital art, robotics, telematics, media in performance, interactive installation art, and technology in public space. Artists studied may include Eadweard Muybridge, Marcel Duchamp, Vladmir Tatlin, John Cage, Jean Tinguely, Stelarc, Survival Research Laboratories, Lynne Hershman Leeson, Edwardo Kac, Natalie Jeremenjenko, Heath Bunting, Janet Cardiff and others.

Content may vary from year to year, at a level suitable for advanced undergraduate or graduate students. Topics will be chosen to meet the emerging needs of students.

This course introduces students to the conceptual frameworks, the analytical approaches, the personal understanding and skills, and the actions required to launch a successful technology-based company. Specifically, it addresses the challenges of evaluating new technologies and original business ideas for commercialization, determining how best to implement those ideas in a startup venture, attracting the resources needed for a new venture (e.g., key people, corporate partners, and funding), organizing and operating a new enterprise, structuring and negotiating important business relationships, and leading early stage companies toward "launch velocity".

A course intended for students interested in learning how rapidly evolving technologies are harnessed to produce useful products or fertile new area for research. Students will work through Harvard Business School case studies, supplemented by lectures to elucidate the key issues. There will be a term project where students predict the future evolution of an exciting technology. The course is team-based and designed for students considering choosing an exciting research area, working in companies (any size, including start-ups) or eventually going to business school. Topics include technology as a growth agent, financial fundamentals, integration into other business processes, product development pipeline and portfolio management, learning curves, risk assessment, technology trend methodologies (scenarios, projections), motivation, rewards and recognition. Industries considered will include electronics (hardware and software), aerospace, medical, biotech, etc. Students will perform both primary and secondary research and through analysis present defensible projections. E 102 and E/ME/MedE 105 are useful but not required precursors.

This Product Design class focuses on people with Disabilities and is done in collaboration with Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. Students visit the Center to define products based upon actual stated and observed needs. Designs and testing are done in collaboration with Rancho associates. Speakers include people with assistive needs, therapists and researchers. Classes teach normative design methodologies as adapted for this special area.

Research on university-level teaching and learning in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines has progressed rapidly in recent years; a well-established body of evidence-based principles now exists to inform instructors and students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Increasingly, future PIs and faculty are called upon to demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply established teaching and assessment practices, as well as to analyze the efficacy of new approaches. In this course, weekly interactive meetings will provide focused overviews and guided application of key pedagogical research, such as prior knowledge and misconceptions, novice-expert differences, and cognitive development as applied to university teaching. We will also explore emerging university teaching and learning practices and their theoretical basis (e.g., the flipped classroom, online learning). Readings will inform in-class work and students will apply principles to a project of their choice.

This graduate course offers instruction and practice in written, oral, and media communication for scientists and engineers. The course is designed to increase students' effectiveness in communicating complex technical information to diverse audiences and to deepen their understanding of communication tools and techniques. Students will explore scientific storytelling through the following communication genres: research manuscripts, abstracts, and proposals; figures, slide decks, and oral presentations; as well as traditional and social media channels. Students will engage with social media, write a science news piece, prepare a conference abstract, present a short technical talk, and create a video pitch. In-class workshops will provide students with the opportunity to revise their work and consider feedback from instructors and peers.