Bioengineering
For a snapshot of courses being offered by Harvard School of Engineering over the next four years, visit our Multi-Year Course Planningtool.
Tissue Engineering
BE 125
2024 Spring
David Mooney
Monday, Wednesday
3:45pm to 5:00pm
Fundamental engineering and biological principles underlying field of tissue engineering, along with examples and strategies to engineer specific tissues for clinical use. Students will prepare a paper in the field of tissue engineering, and participate in a weekly laboratory in which they will learn and use methods to fabricate materials and perform 3-D cell culture.
Course WebsiteIntroduction to Biomedical Imaging and Systems
BE 128
2024 Spring
Linsey Moyer
Tuesday, Thursday
2:15pm to 3:30pm
The course is designed as an introduction for students who want to gain both hands on training as well as an introduction to the physics and image reconstruction techniques involved in generating medical and scientific images. The course will introduce the fundamentals of the major imaging modalities including, but not limited to: electron microscopy, optical microscopy, x-ray, computed tomography, ultrasound, MRI, and nuclear imaging, as well as an overview of in vivo imaging and molecular imaging.
Course WebsiteIntroduction to Bioelectronics
BE 129
2024 Spring
Jia Liu
Monday, Wednesday
11:15am to 12:30pm
This course introduces bioelectronics and its applications in neuroscience, neuroengineering, cardiology, wearable technology, and so on. The focus is on the basic principles of bioelectricity, biochemistry, and physiological behaviors of biological systems and how to design electronic tools to precisely measure and control them. Key themes throughout the course will include bioelectricity, biochemistry, cellular and tissue physiological behavior, optogenetics, sensors, stimulators, circuits, signal processing, electronics-biology interface, and applications. This includes both the practical and theoretical aspects of the topic. Three experimental demonstrations will be included as part of the normal class meeting time. Given its broad coverage, students who enroll in this course are expected to have a substantial background in chemistry, biology, and electrical engineering (see recommended prep and course requirements).
Course WebsiteNeural Control of Movement
BE 130
2024 Spring
Maurice Smith
Tuesday, Thursday
12:45pm to 2:00pm
Approaches from robotics, control theory, and neuroscience for understanding biological motor systems. Analytical and computational modeling of muscles, reflex arcs, and neural systems that contribute to motor control in the brain. Focus on understanding how the central nervous system plans and controls voluntary movement of the eyes and limbs. Learning and memory; effects of variability and noise on optimal motor planning and control in biological systems.
Course WebsiteFlavor Molecules of Food Fermentation: Exploration and Inquiry
ENG-SCI 24
2024 Spring
Pia Sorensen
Monday, Wednesday
1:30pm to 2:45pm
Microorganisms produce a diverse array of specialized small molecules as part of their metabolic processes. In this course we will study the production, properties, and characterization of these molecules through the lens of food fermentation. In particular, we will focus on the small molecules that contribute taste and aroma in fermented foods. Students will experience the scientific inquiry process in a creative way by designing and implementing their own research project based on a fermented food of their choosing. Still a field with much potential for discovery, interested students are invited to continue their research project in the summer.
Course WebsiteSupervised Reading and Research
ENG-SCI 91R
2024 Spring
Katia Bertoldi, Chris Lombardo, Linsey Moyer, Bryan Yoon, Seymur Hasanov
Guided reading and research.
Course WebsiteEntrepreneurship and Innovation: Practical and Academic Insights
ENG-SCI 94
2024 Spring
Josh Lerner, George Clay
Monday, Wednesday
11:15am to 12:30pm
Entrepreneurship is increasingly transforming our society and economy. This course aims to provide for undergraduates an introduction to entrepreneurship and its implications for innovation. The class will primarily consist of case study discussions, but will include some traditional lecture sessions that build on academic papers to provide more frameworks. As such, it draws primarily on materials from the introductory MBA course at Harvard Business School, “The Entrepreneurial Manager” (TEM). Students will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss the cases.
Course WebsiteEntrepreneurship and Innovation: Practical and Academic Insights
ENG-SCI 94
2024 Spring
Richard Bennett, Spencer Rascoff
Monday, Wednesday
12:45pm to 2:00pm
Entrepreneurship is increasingly transforming our society and economy. This course aims to provide for undergraduates an introduction to entrepreneurship and its implications for innovation. The class will primarily consist of case study discussions, but will include some traditional lecture sessions that build on academic papers to provide more frameworks. As such, it draws primarily on materials from the introductory MBA course at Harvard Business School, “The Entrepreneurial Manager” (TEM). Students will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss the cases.
Course WebsiteENG-SCI 95R
2024 Spring
Paul Bottino
Wednesday
3:45pm to 6:30pm
Students do field-based work in entrepreneurship to develop their existing startup and explore new ideas and opportunities for startup creation. The course is for student-founders seeking to advance their innovation experience in a supportive community of peer founders. Students may work individually; teams with a working history are preferred. Requires self-directed, independent work and active outreach to mentors, customers, and partners for guidance and feedback in addition to that provided by the instructor and teaching staff. Students share their work regularly and engage in a peer-to-peer feedback forum. Coursework is customized to the needs of each student and their startup role and includes development of product, technology, market, business, organization and leadership. See:https://tech.seas.harvard.edu/rad to apply for instructor permission to enroll.
Course WebsiteEngineering Problem Solving and Design Project
ENG-SCI 96
2024 Spring
Samir Mitragotri, Fawwaz Habbal
Monday, Wednesday
12:45pm to 3:30pm
Semester-long team-based project providing experience working with clients on complex multi-stakeholders real problems. Course provides exposure to problem definition, problem framing, qualitative and quantitative research methods, modeling, generation and co-design of creative solutions, engineering design trade-offs, and documentation/communication skills. Ordinarily taken in the junior year.
Course WebsiteEngineering Problem Solving and Design Project
ENG-SCI 96
2024 Spring
Chris Lombardo, Gu-Yeon Wei
Monday, Wednesday
12:45pm to 3:30pm
Semester-long team-based project providing experience working with clients on complex multi-stakeholders real problems. Course provides exposure to problem definition, problem framing, qualitative and quantitative research methods, modeling, generation and co-design of creative solutions, engineering design trade-offs, and documentation/communication skills. Ordinarily taken in the junior year.
Course WebsiteEngineering Design Projects
ENG-SCI 100HFB
2024 Spring
Katia Bertoldi
Individual engineering design projects which demonstrate mastery of engineering knowledge and techniques. Each student will pursue an appropriate capstone project which involves both engineering design and quantitative analysis. This culminates in a final oral presentation and final report/thesis. Students must complete both parts of this course, fall and spring, in order to receive credit.
Course WebsiteHumanitarian Design Projects
ENG-SCI 105HFR
2024 Spring
Chris Lombardo
Tuesday
6:00pm to 7:15pm
Multi-year long team projects that provide an engineering experience working with partner communities on real-world problems. Projects provide exposure to problem definition, quantitative analysis, modeling, generation of creative solutions utilizing appropriate technology, engineering design trade-offs, and documentation/communication skills. These projects will be implemented with our project partners after the appropriate design and approvals have been obtained.
Course WebsiteFoundations of Quantum Mechanics
ENG-SCI 200
2023 Fall
Federico Capasso
Monday, Wednesday
3:00pm to 4:15pm
This course is an introduction to the foundations of quantum mechanics, with specific focus on the basic principles involved in the control of quantum systems. Experimental foundations of quantum mechanics. Superposition principle, Schrödinger’s equation, eigenvalue and time dependent problems, wave packets, coherent states; uncertainty principle. One dimensional problems: double well potentials, tunneling and resonant tunneling; WKB approximation. Hermitian operators and expectation values; time evolution and Hamiltonian, commutation rules, transfer matrix methods. Crystals, Bloch theorem, superlattices. Angular momentum, spin, Pauli matrices. Coherent interaction of light with two-level systems. Quantization of the EM field, spontaneous and stimulated emission; qubits, entanglement, teleportation.
Course WebsiteMedical Device Design
ENG-SCI 227
2024 Spring
Shriya Srinivasan, Conor Walsh
Monday, Wednesday
2:15pm to 3:30pm
Project-based course on the design of medical devices to address needs identified by hospital-based clinicians. Students work in teams with physicians to develop a novel device. The design process includes: needs finding; problem identification; prior art searches; strategy and concept generation; estimation; sketching; sketch modeling; machine elements, ergonomics and prototyping.
Course WebsiteAdvanced Tissue Engineering
ENG-SCI 230
2024 Spring
David Mooney
Monday, Wednesday
3:45pm to 5:00pm
Fundamental engineering and biological principles underlying field of tissue engineering, along with examples and strategies to engineer specific tissues for clinical use. Student design teams prepare a research proposal and participate in a weekly laboratory.
Course WebsiteAdvanced Neural Control of Movement
ENG-SCI 249
2024 Spring
Maurice Smith
Tuesday, Thursday
12:45pm to 2:00pm
Students expected to meet all of the requirements of Biomedical Engineering 130 (formerly Engineering Sciences 149) and in addition to submit a term project with significant analytic content.
Course WebsiteInformal Robotics
ENG-SCI 256
2024 Spring
Chuck Hoberman
Tuesday
1:30pm to 4:15pm
This course teaches how to create original robotic devices made of light, compliant – informal – materials.
New fabrication techniques are transforming the field of robotics. Rather than rigid parts connected by mechanical connectors, robots can now be made of folded paper, carbon laminates or soft gels. They can be formed fully integrated from a 3D printer rather than assembled from individual components. Informal Robotics draws on cutting-edge research from leading labs, in particular, Harvard’s Micro Robotics Laboratory which has created unique designs for ambulatory and flying robots, end-effectors, medical instruments and other applications.
We will explore informal robotics from multiple perspectives, culminating with the design of original devices displaying animated intelligence in real-time. Going beyond traditional engineering approaches, we will also explore new opportunities for design at the product, architectural, and urban scales.
Techniques:
Hands-on: Working with the GSD’s Fab Lab we are creating a kit of parts that will be available to all enrolled students. With the kit, you can create a wide range of folding mechanisms controlled by on-board miniature electronics.
Software / Simulation: Software workshops will be offered on Fusion 360 and Grasshopper to simulate robotic performance within a virtual environment.
Topics:
- Kinematics: design techniques for pop-ups, origami, and soft mechanisms.
- Fabrication: methods: for composite materials, laminated assembly, self-folding, and integrated flexures - the kit of parts will allow for hands-on exploration.
- Controls: how to actuate movement and program desired behavior. Topics include servos, linear actuators, and use of Arduino actuator control.
- Applications: takes us beyond purely technological concerns, contextualizing Informal Robotics within larger trends where materials, manufacturing and computation are starting to merge
Introduction to Bioelectronics
ENG-SCI 258
2024 Spring
Jia Liu
Monday, Wednesday
11:15am to 12:30pm
This course introduces bioelectronics and its applications in neuroscience, neuroengineering, cardiology, wearable technology, and so on. The focus is on the basic principles of bioelectricity, biochemistry, and physiological behaviors of biological systems and how to design electronic tools to precisely measure and control them. Key themes throughout the course will include bioelectricity, biochemistry, cellular and tissue physiological behavior, optogenetics, sensors, stimulators, circuits, signal processing, electronics-biology interface, and applications. This includes both the practical and theoretical aspects of the topic. Three experimental demonstrations will be included as part of the normal class meeting time. Given its broad coverage, students who enroll in this course are expected to have a substantial background in chemistry, biology, and electrical engineering (see recommended prep and course requirements). The contents and course requirements are similar to those of Biomedical Engineering 129 (BE 129), with the exception that students enrolled in Engineering Sciences 258 (ENG-SCI 258) are expected to undertake a substantial course project.
Course WebsiteProfessional Writing for Scientists and Engineers
ENG-SCI 297
2024 Spring
Suzanne Smith
Thursday
3:00pm to 5:00pm
This class leads students to develop their skills in the critical reading and writing of science and engineering. Genres will include research articles, grant proposals, school/fellowship/job applications, or lay abstracts & press releases for the non-scientific public. Crucially, students will be empowered not only to achieve their own writing goals, but also to break down these learned skills and impart them to others, as effective collaborators and mentors of younger students.
Course WebsitePolitical Economy of the Global Semiconductor Industry: Technology, Markets and Policy
ENG-SCI 298R
2024 Spring
Woodward Yang
Thursday
3:45pm to 5:45pm
This graduate seminar offers an in-depth exploration of the global semiconductor industry which is currently at the forefront of technological innovation and geopolitical dynamics. Central to our study is the semiconductor industry's remarkable growth and evolution, driven by a complex and interdependent global network encompassing a diverse array of companies and research institutions. We will also engage in a multifaceted analysis of the semiconductor industry which will involve examining the technological limits and breakthroughs, assessing the economic factors underpinning the industry, and understanding the current geopolitical landscape, especially focusing on the recent tensions between China and the United States.
Course WebsiteSpecial Topics in Engineering Sciences
ENG-SCI 299R
2024 Spring
Todd Zickler
Supervision of experimental or theoretical research on acceptable problems in engineering and applied science and supervision of reading on topics not covered by regular courses of instruction.
Course WebsiteAn Introduction to Maker Skills
MIT ES .100
2024 Spring
Introduction to making and use of MIT's maker spaces intended to build skills needed for designing, conducting, and completing experiments and design projects, such as may be encountered in undergraduate classwork and research activities. Includes maker space training (i.e., wood shop, digital fabrication, and electronics fabrication) and open-ended design projects, with work evenly divided between class, homework, and maker space activities.
Course WebsiteSpecial Studies in the MIT Initiative for Teaching Incarcerated Individuals
MIT ES .S91
2024 Spring
Seminar taught inside a secure Massachusetts correctional facility with a mix of MIT students and incarcerated students. Topics vary from year to year.
Course WebsiteIn Bioengineering
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