* ENAS 050a / APHY 0500a / PHYS 0500a, Science of Modern Technology and Public Policy  Daniel Prober

Examination of the science behind selected advances in modern technology and implications for public policy, with focus on the scientific and contextual basis of each advance. Topics are developed by the participants with the instructor and with guest lecturers, and may include nanotechnology, quantum computation and cryptography, renewable energy technologies, optical systems for communication and medical diagnostics, transistors, satellite imaging and global positioning systems, large-scale immunization, and DNA made to order. Enrollment limited to first-year students.   SC
HTBA

* ENAS 080b and ENAS 100b / APHY 0800b and APHY 1000b / EPS 0800b and EPS 1050b / EVST 0080b and EVST 1000b / PHYS 0800b and PHYS 1000b, Energy, Environment, and Public Policy  Daniel Prober

The technology and use of energy. Impacts on the environment, climate, security, and economy. Application of scientific reasoning and quantitative analysis. Intended for non–science majors with strong backgrounds in math and science. Tours are be conducted of major examples of good energy design at Yale, including the Yale Power Plant and Kroon Hall. Students who take this course are not eligible to take APHY 100. Prerequisites: High school chemistry, physics, and Math. Calculus is not required. Enrollment limited to first-year students.  QR, SC
HTBA

ENAS 110a / APHY 1100a, The Technological World  Owen Miller

How does modern technology work? This course introduces the scientific concepts underpinning a wide variety of technologies, including smartphones, medical-imaging techniques, solar-energy conversion, and virtual-reality headsets. Pivotal to each of these example technologies is electromagnetism—the study of electric and magnetic fields and waves—which will comprise the scientific foundation of the course, with additional forays into quantum mechanics (solar cells, medical imaging), information theory (digital communication), and cryptography (code-breaking, cryptocurrency). The course is open to all students. We use trigonometry (sines and cosines, angles, etc.) throughout.  QR, SC
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

ENAS 475a / MENG 4475a, Fluid Mechanics of Natural Phenomena  Amir Pahlavan

This course draws inspiration from nature and focuses on utilizing the fundamental concepts of fluid mechanics and soft matter physics to explain these phenomena. We study a broad range of problems related to i) nutrient transport in plants, slime molds, and fungi and the adaptation of their networks in dynamic environments, ii) collective behavior and chemotaxis of swimming microorganisms, and iii) pattern formation in nature, e.g. icicles, mud cracks, salt polygons, dendritic crystals, and Turing patterns. We also discuss how our understanding of these problems could be used to develop sustainable solutions for the society, e.g. designing synthetic trees to convert CO2 to oxygen, developing micro/nano robots for biomedical applications, and utilizing pattern formation and self-assembly to make new materials. Prerequisite: MENG 361.
MW 11:35am-12:50pm