Syllabus

 

COURSE TITLE	Contemporary Science and Innovation
COURSE NUMBER	SCI 184
CREDITS	4 credits
MEETING TIMES	T 2:30-5:00 / A402
INSTRUCTOR	Dr. Shatz Office: Archer 306  Tel: 617 573-8234 lshatz@suffolk.edu

Course objectives: This is a 4 credit freshman seminar course that explores the science of sustainability and has the students develop an experiment that teaches other Suffolk students about energy and sustainability. The goals of the course are: to provide students with a context for learning how to frame and solve complex problems using an integration of science, engineering and the humanities; how to do independent research and work in teams, and how to communicate complex scientific issues to the public by designing and building experiments.

Prerequisites:  This course is introductory and does not assume prior knowledge of the subject.

Text: Beyond Smoke and Mirrors -Climate Change and Energy in the 21st Century by Burton Richter

Reference: Energy for Sustainability

ASSIGNMENTS

Sustainability: The first two months of the course will be spent exploring sustainability issues and the science of sustainability issues through experiments using Lego Mindstorm with LABVIEW software  Assignments will consist of readings, blogging assignments, experiments, multiple choice questions, trips and calculations (in Blackboard).  There will also be a midterm.

Service Project at Suffolk: Teaching about Sustainability: The last month of the course will be spent working in teams, along with the students of SCI 184 A on designing a laboratory exercise that relates to the science of sustainability for other Suffolk students, and your team will be the instructors for that lab which will take place at the end of the semester.  You will develop a handout for the lab and you will grade the students’ work.

Blogs: You will have two weekly blogging assignments which you will post on your Suffolk blog (go to http://cas.blogs.suffolk.edu to set up your blog); one will be on the Lego Mindstorm activity and the other will be on a sustainability topic.  For each assignment you are expected to not only create a blog about a particular topic but to leave comments on the blogs of two of your classmates.  In doing so, the hope is to create a community of students who are concerned and knowledgeable about sustainability issues. You can use video, audio, media, etc.  Be creative and have fun.

Blog about experiment: In addition, you will be designing a blog that describes all the aspects of your experiment-the theory, the set-up, and the results. Your website should educate and inform the users, with the use of not only words but with media (pictures, sounds, movies).  Hyperlinks should exist for users who want more detailed information about your work. You may find this website helpful in describing your experiment although you are not required to adhere to all its guidelines

Since this is a 4-credit course, you are expected to spend 7.5 hours outside of class on your various assignments, roughly 2 hours on your reading assignments and questions about assignments and 5.5 hours on your blogging assignments.  The more time you put into your blogs, the higher will be your grade.

Date	Class Topics	Assignments
Tues (1/17)	Introduction to the coursehttp://www.suffolk.edu/recycling  Lecture 1 Distance, Velocity and Acceleration Intro to Lego Mindstorm	Read Ch 1-4  Assignment 1:   Create a blog about Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.  Be sure you have at least three references. Questions on reading Questions on class lecture/ activities.
Tues (1/24)	Distance, Velocity and Acceleration(cont.)Intro to Lego Mindstorm (cont.)  Lecture 2 Discussion of reading Discussion of Fukushima Daiichi Nobel Prize winner Burton Richter on sustainability: Part 1	Read Ch 5-7  Assignment 2:   Post thoughtful comments on two of your classmates’ blogs. Make up a blog about Demand Response:  Be sure you have at least three references. Robotics activity blog Questions on reading Questions on class lecture/ activities. Assignment 1 due
Tues (1/31)	Lecture 3 Discussion of readingScience: Force, Work, and Energy  Lego Mindstorm Experiment-Work=Force*Distance= Energy Expended Excel sheet example	Read: Ch 8-10  Assignment 3:   Blog about energy  experiment Post thoughtful comments on two of your classmates blogs. Blog about all the ways the automobile industry is using to increase gas mileage. Be sure you have at least three references. Questions on reading Questions on class lecture/ activities. Assignment 2 due
Tues (2/07)	Lecture 4 Discussion of readingLego Mindstorm:  Generator Experiment  Excel Sheet example Nuclear Energy Lecture	Read: Ch 11-14  Assignment 4:   Make up a blog about Natural Gas Hydraulic Fracturing (hydrofracking): Be sure you have at least three references. Post thoughtful comments on two of your classmates’ blogs. Blog about generator lab Questions on reading Questions on class lecture/ activities. Assignment 3 due
Tues 02/14	Discussion of reading  Lecture 5 Science: Solar Cells Solar energy experiment Solar lab Excel Sheet example	Read Ch 15-17  Assignment  5 :   Post thoughtful comments on two of your classmates’ blogs. Blog about solar energy lab Blog about the Solyndra scandal and about the wisdom of clean energy subsidies in general. Be sure you have at least three references. Questions on reading Questions on class lecture/ activities.   Assignment 4 due
Tues 02/21	Tom Vales Sterling Engine, Peltier Junction, Mendocino MotorScience: Thermodynamics  Exercises Temperature and Heating Lesson Nobel Laureate Murray Gell-Mann on Global Warming	Assignment  6 :  Blog about Tom Vales presentation Post thoughtful comments on two of your classmates blogs Blog about global warming deniers- who they are, what they say, why they say it. Assignment 5 due
Tues  02/28	Trip to MIT Plasma Fusion Center	Assignment 7:  Post thoughtful comments on two of your classmates’ blogs. Blog about the pros and cons of shutting down the down the nuclear power plant in Indian Point NY. Be sure you have at least three references. Blog about the MIT Plasma Center tour
Tues  03/06	Team meeting	Assignment 8:  Take-home midterm due Post your thoughts about what type of experiment you are thinking about designing.
Tues  03/20	Team meeting	Assignment 9:Outline of Experiment
Tues  03/27	Team meeting	Assignment 10:Preliminary Lab handout
Tues  04/03	Trip to MOS Museum to study wind, solar energy and the Investigate exhibit	Assignment 11:   1. Lab handout 2. Blog about what you learned at the MOS that can enhance your experiment
Tues  04/10	Presentation of lab to the other teams	Assignment 11:  Presentation of lab to the other teams
04/17	PPT Presentation to class, final class to work on experiment	Assignment 12:Website (Blog)
Tues  04/ 24	Final experiment
Final’s week		Web site (blog) due

• Course grading:
  • Blogs: 35%
  • Comments on Blogs: 5%
  • Midterm: 10%
  • Multiple choice questions: 5%
  • Final Lab Write-up: 10%
  • Final Website: 10%
  • Final Presentation: 10%
  • Class participation: 10%
  • Chapter questions: 5%

The percentages assigned to the various course assessments only serve as a guideline to a student’s final grade, which is solely based on the instructor’s judgment on how well the student mastered the concepts and skills taught in the course.  Reasons for departing from the stated percentages include but are not limited to: student struggled at the beginning but mastered concepts at the end, student’s attitude and effort, student’s dependency on other students’ work, effect of student’s illness on work, student’s performing the course work but missing fundamental understanding of material.

See the ECE Department’s grading policy to understand how grades are assigned.

Absence Policy: Students are required to attend class.  Since class meets only once a week, two missed classes may result in an automatic “F grade in the course.

Tardiness Policy: Students are expected to be in class on time.  If you are late, you will not be marked as “present”.