Topics and writing assignments will examine resource estimation, environmental effects, and a survey of resources and technologies such as oil and gas, nuclear power, hydropower, solar energy, wind energy and more. We will evaluate the trade-offs and uncertainties of various energy systems and explore a framework for assessing solutions. We hear about energy sustainability, but what does this mean? What will the impact of climate change be? What energy sources are considered sustainable and why? What fraction of our energy needs is likely to come from sustainable energy in the future? Are these estimates reasonable and what are the technological and societal challenges to broader use of sustainable energy? This seminar will explore these and other questions as we learn about energy resources, technologies and solutions that affect our lives and our planet today and in the future. Students will also draft written position papers articulating and defending a view on topics of discussion, and they will complete a written and oral research project at the end of the term. Students will read materials, search for related information, make presentations, and participate in class discussions of related ideas. The course will cover three modules related to contemporary issues in biomedical science. This first-year seminar will help students build strategies and skills for reading, researching, and understanding science. Accessing peer-reviewed literature or other trusted information sources can minimize inaccuracies in reports, but it comes at the cost of time and effort and does not guarantee an enlightened ground truth. Social media and the popular press play a dominant role for many readers, but the filtering of scientific information through non-technical mediums can obscure important details, introduce inadvertent errors, and even result in manipulation with the intent to mislead.

Public communication is an increasingly important aspect of modern science and technology, and a wide array of information sources compete to serve and expand public interest in scientific advances. Students will be required to read, present, and discuss materials in class and write position papers articulating and/or defending particular perspectives on the historical development of medical imaging and its contemporary and/or future uses and benefits. Contemporary issues surrounding the use of imaging to screen for disease, the costs to the healthcare system of routine application of advanced imaging technology, and the benefits of the information provided by medical imaging in terms of evidence-based outcomes assessment will be explored. This first-year seminar will review the historical development of modern radiographic imaging and discuss the basic physical principles behind common approaches such as CT, ultrasound, and MRI. The future of medical imaging may be even more promising as new technologies are being developed to observe the structural, functional, and molecular characteristics of tissues at finer and finer spatial scales. Medical imaging has evolved significantly over the last 100 years and has transformed modern medical practice to the extent that very few clinical decisions are made without relying on information obtained with contemporary imaging modalities. In addition students will write two short papers, develop an annotated bibliography, and write a research paper based on the research completed for the annotated bibliography. Students will be required to actively participate in class by leading class discussions and actively engaging in small group activities. Reading will include a number of published papers and selections from textbooks. Through readings, class discussion, and individual research, we will explore this complex problem student writing will synthesize results from the literature to clarify the factual basis for their own understanding.

This course explores the published scientific literature on the nature and cause of climate change, potential impacts on us, and the implications for our nation's energy issues. America today is engaged in a discussion of current climate change and its cause, ranging from calls for immediate action to denial. Climate change has occurred naturally and frequently over the course of many time scales in the past.

3d world magazine 177 page 33