Discrete and continuum modeling of diffusion processes in physics, chemistry, and economics. Topics include central limit theorems, continuous-time random walks, Levy flights, correlations, extreme events, mixing, renormalization, and percolation.

Studies how randomization can be used to make algorithms simpler and more efficient via random sampling, random selection of witnesses, symmetry breaking, and Markov chains. Models of randomized computation. Data structures: hash tables, and skip lists. Graph algorithms: minimum spanning trees, shortest paths, and minimum cuts. Geometric algorithms: convex hulls, linear programming in fixed or arbitrary dimension. Approximate counting; parallel algorithms; online algorithms; derandomization techniques; and tools for probabilistic analysis of algorithms.

In this course, we will address how transcriptional regulators both prohibit and drive differentiation during the course of development. How does a stem cell know when to remain a stem cell and when to become a specific cell type? Are there global differences in the way the genome is read in multipotent and terminally differentiated cells? We will explore how stem cell pluripotency is preserved, how master regulators of cell-fate decisions execute developmental programs, and how chromatin regulators control undifferentiated versus differentiated states. Additionally, we will discuss how aberrant regulation of transcriptional regulators produces disorders such as developmental defects and cancer. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

Detection and measurement of radio and optical signals encountered in communications, astronomy, remote sensing, instrumentation, and radar. Statistical analysis of signal processing systems, including radiometers, spectrometers, interferometers, and digital correlation systems. Matched filters and ambiguity functions. Communications channel performance. Measurement of random electromagnetic fields. Angular filtering properties of antennas, interferometers, and aperture synthesis systems. Radiative transfer and parameter estimation.

For the last century, precepts of scientific management and administrative rationality have concentrated power in the hands of technical specialists, which in recent decades has contributed to widespread disenfranchisement and discontent among stakeholders in natural resources cases. In this seminar we examine the limitations of scientific management as a model both for governance and for gathering and using information, and describe alternative methods for informing and organizing decision-making processes. We feature cases involving large carnivores in the West (mountain lions and grizzly bears), Northeast coastal fisheries, and adaptive management of the Colorado River. There will be nightly readings and a short written assignment.

"Regenerative medicine involves the repair and regeneration of tissues for therapeutic purposes, such as replacing bone marrow in leukemia, cartilage in osteoarthritis or cells of the heart after a heart attack. In this course, we will explore basic mechanisms of how cells differentiate into specific tissues in response to a variety of biologic signaling molecules. We will discuss the use of such factors for in vitro tissue production. We will also study the cellular mechanisms involved in the cloning of animals and how Scottish researchers produced the sheep Dolly using the nucleus of a mammary gland cell from an adult sheep. We will read papers describing organ production, such as the in vitro formation of beating heart cells. We will also consider the molecular bases of cellular tissue remodeling to correct these changes. We will discuss how studies of the developmental, cellular and molecular biology of regeneration have led to the discovery of new drugs. This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching."

This course examines the issues, principles, and challenges toward building relational machines through a combination of studio-style design and critique along with lecture, lively discussion of course readings, and assignments. Insights from social psychology, human-computer interaction, and design will be examined, as well as how these ideas are manifest in a broad range of applications for software agents and robots.

A three-semester subject sequence on quantum field theory stressing the relativistic quantum field theories relevant to the physics of the Standard Model. 8.323 is a one-semester self-contained subject in quantum field theory. Concepts and basic techniques are developed through applications in elementary particle physics and condensed matter physics. Includes the basic tools of field theory required for phenomenological studies. Topics: Functional integral formulation of quantum mechanics and many-particle systems. Classical field theory, symmetries, and Noether's theorem. Quantization of scalar fields. Feynman graphs, analytic properties of amplitudes and unitarity of the S-matrix. Renormalization and renormalization group. Spinors and the Dirac equation. Quantization of Dirac fields. Supersymmetry. Quantization of abelian gauge fields. Calculations in quantum electrodynamics. Classical Yang-Mills fields. The Higgs phenomenon and a description of the Standard Model. 8.324 is the second term of the quantum field theory sequence. Develops in depth some of the topics discussed in 8.323 and introduces some advanced material. Topics: Quantization of nonabelian gauge theories. BRST symmetry. Perturbation theory anomalies. Renormalization and symmetry breaking. The renormalization group. Critical exponents and scalar field theory. Conformal field theory. 8.325 is the third and last term of the quantum field theory sequence. Its aim is the proper theoretical discussion of the physic

" 8.323, Relativistic Quantum Field Theory I, is a one-term self-contained subject in quantum field theory. Concepts and basic techniques are developed through applications in elementary particle physics, and condensed matter physics. "

Normally taken by physics majors in their sophomore year. Einstein's postulates; consequences for simultaneity, time dilation, length contraction, clock synchronization; Lorentz transformation; relativistic effects and paradoxes; Minkowski diagrams; invariants and four-vectors; momentum, energy and mass; particle collisions. Relativity and electricity; Coulomb's law; magnetic fields. Brief introduction to Newtonian cosmology. Introduction to some concepts of General Relativity; principle of equivalence. The Schwarzchild metric; gravitational red shift, particle and light trajectories, geodesics, Shapiro delay. This course, which concentrates on special relativity, is normally taken by physics majors in their sophomore year. Topics include Einstein's postulates, the Lorentz transformation, relativistic effects and paradoxes, and applications involving electromagnetism and particle physics. This course also provides a brief introduction to some concepts of general relativity, including the principle of equivalence, the Schwartzschild metric and black holes, and the FRW metric and cosmology.

Most algorithms in computer vision and image analysis can be understood in terms of two important components: a representation and a modeling/estimation algorithm. The representation defines what information is important about the objects and is used to describe them. The modeling techniques extract the information from images to instantiate the representation for the particular objects present in the scene. In this seminar, we will discuss popular representations (such as contours, level sets, deformation fields) and useful methods that allow us to extract and manipulate image information, including manifold fitting, markov random fields, expectation maximization, clustering and others. For each concept -- a new representation or an estimation algorithm -- a lecture on the mathematical foundations of the concept will be followed by a discussion of two or three relevant research papers in computer vision, medical and biological imaging, that use the concept in different ways. We will aim to understand the fundamental techniques and to recognize situations in which these techniques promise to improve the quality of the analysis.

This course focuses on current research, controversial issues, and methodological problems in the epidemiology of reproductive and perinatal health. Lectures and analyses of research papers present reproductive health issues such as conception and infertility, contraception and hormone supplementation safety including effects on reproductive cancers , as well as perinatal issues such as complications of pregnancy, infections in pregnancy, maternal mortality, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and birth defects.

Examines the intellectual foundations of the new discipline of deep sea archaeology, a convergence of oceanography, archaeology, and engineering. How best are robots and submarines employed for archaeological work? How do new technologies change operations plans, research designs, and archaeological questions? Covers oceanography, history and technology of underwater vehicles, search strategies, technology development, archaeological technique, sociology of scientific knowledge. Case studies of deep-sea projects include the wrecks of the Titanic and Monitor, Roman trading vessels in the Mediterranean, and deep research in the Black Sea.

In this seminar, students will design and perfect a digital environment to house the activities of large-scale organizations of people making bottom-up decisions, such as with citizen-government affairs, voting corporate shareholders or voting members of global non-profits and labor unions. A working Open Source prototype created last semester will be used as the starting point, featuring collaborative filtering and electronic agent technology pioneered at the Media Lab. This course focuses on development of online spaces as part of an interdependent human environment, including physical architectures, mapped work processes and social/political dimensions. A cross-disciplinary approach will be taken; students with background in architecture, urban planning, law, cognition, business, digital media and computer science are encouraged to participate. No prior technical knowledge is necessary, though a rudimentary understanding of web page creation is helpful.

This course is an introduction to the history, theory, practice, and implications of rhetoric, the art and craft of persuasion. This course specifically focuses on the ways that scientists use various methods of persuasion in the construction of scientific knowledge.

The 6.370 Robocraft programming competition is a unique challenge that combines battle strategy and software engineering. In short, the objective is to write the best player program for the computer game Robocraft. The course is offered during MIT's Independent Activities Period (IAP) - a special 4-week term that runs the full month of January.

Chemical rocket propulsion systems for launch, orbital, and interplanetary flight. Modeling of solid, liquid-bipropellant, and hybrid rocket engines. Thermochemistry, prediction of specific impulse. Nozzle flows including real gas and kinetic effects. Structural constraints. Propellant feed systems, turbopumps. Combustion processes in solid, liquid, and hybrid rockets. Cooling; heat sink, ablative, and regenerative.

This course examines joint fact-finding within the context of adaptive and ecosystem-based management. Challenges and obstacles to collaborative approaches for deciding environmental and natural resource policy and the institutional changes within federal agencies necessary to utilize joint fact-finding as a means to link science and societal decisions are discussed and reviewed with scientists and managers. Senior-level federal policymakers participate

This subject teaches students, having an initial interest in sailing design, how to design good yachts. Topics covered include hydrostatics, transverse stability, and the incorporation of the design spiral into one's working methods. Computer aided design (CAD) is used to design the shapes of hulls, appendages and decks, and is an important part of this course. The capstone project in this course is the Final Design Project in which each student designs a sailing yacht, complete in all major respects. The central material for this subject is the content of the book Principals of Yacht Design by Larssson and Eliasson (see further description in the syllabus). All the class lectures are based on the material in this book. The figures in the book which are shown in class (but not reproduced on this site), contain the essential material and their meaning is explained in detail during the lecture sessions. Mastery of the material in the book and completing a design project provides the desired and needed education.

Fundamentals of satellite engineering design, including distributed satellite. Studies orbital environment. Analyzes problems of station keeping, attitude control, communications, power generation, structural design, thermal balance, and subsystem integration. Considers trade-offs among weight, efficiency, cost, and reliability. Discusses choice of design parameters, such as size, weight, power levels, temperature limits, frequency, and bandwidth. Examples taken from current satellite systems. Satellite Engineering introduces students to subsystem design in engineering spacecraft. The course presents characteristic subsystems, such as power, structure, communication and control, and analyzes the engineering trades necessary to integrate subsystems successfully into a satellite. Discussions of spacecraft operating environment and orbital mechanics help students to understand the functional requirements and key design parameters for satellite systems.