| ECE / NANOSCI 310:
Foundations of Nanoscale Science & Technology Spring 2011 Place: Hudson 222 Meeting time: T/Th, 10:05am - 11:20am Synopsis This course is designed to introduce students to the interdiciplinary aspects of nanoscience by integrating important components of this broad research field. This integrated approach will cross the traditional disciplines of biology, chemistry, electrical & computer engineering, computer science, and physics. The focus of the course will be on fundamental properties of materials at the nanoscale, synthesis of nanoparticles, characterization tools, self-assembly, and nanoscale systems. Grades will be assigned based on class participation, individual performance on a group project (involving three presentations), the quality of two integrative papers on topics related to nanoscale science, and a final exam. Textbook
Course Schedule (may change slightly)
Course Assignments Project proposal presentations (15% of grade) Assignment
details:
1. Prepare a 30 minute (max limit!) presentation (as a group) describing: a. The project direction, scope and ultimate goal. A comment on scope: This project is designed to be open-ended and in the past students have covered experimental to theoretical topics, with and without physical, chemical, or computational experiments. The choice is left to you, and your group, but should include areas of common interest for each group member. It is permissible to include pieces of your own research in this project but the topic should be a unique synthesis for the group. When in doubt, please contact me to discuss. b. The related work, per topical area for the project, divided by each member. (Choose 1 or 2 papers per area to cover briefly during the presentation, you may have more in your bibliography) * The following are useful for finding related work: 1. ISI Web of Science 2. PubMed 3. National Center for Biotechnology Information Site Map 4. IEEE Explorer 5. ACM Digital Library 6. Google Scholar Grading: Participation during the presentation will determine your grade. This includes answering questions and delivering a portion of the related work material. Individual topical papers due by midnight (15% of grade) Assignment
details: Prepare a review paper of at least three research papers on a topic relevant (even loosely) to your group project. Choose a different set of papers from the other member(s) of your group. The paper you write should not exceed four pages in length, two columns (spanning figures are OK), single-spaced, 1" margins. Be sure to include a title, author line, relevant figures, and references. Professional caveats about plagiarism apply to this assignment, i.e., when in doubt cite the source and material in its entirity. Please only submit PDFs (by email to me, subject line "310 Individual Paper"). Grading: Your grade will be determined by the clarity of the paper in describing the research articles. Project update presentations (15% of grade) Assignment details: 1. Prepare a 15 minute presentation (as a group) including: a. Preliminary findings and results supporting the final goal
b. Any modifications to the project description and motivation c. The major components of the project and specific objectives for each part d. A research plan for proposed work and milestones e. The challenges to the project and alternate (tangential) approaches Grading:
Participation during, and the completeness of, the presentation will determine your grade. Group report and evaluations due (30% of grade) Submit electronically. Assignment
details:
1. Prepare a final group project report (less than 15 pages) using similar guidelines to the topical paper assignment. All group members must contribute and approve the final version. 2. Evaluate your group members and your own performance in the class and in the group project using this format: evaluation form. (email it back) 3. Turn in the report (PDF only) and evaluation form by email promptly by the due date. Please use subject lines "310 Group Report" and "310 Group Evaluation". Grading: Your grade will be determined by the clarity of the paper in describing your project. Poor grammar and/or spelling mistakes will be penalized. Unbalanced effort (as indicated by the group evaluation) within a group will penalize the weaker group members. N.B. Your evaluation as a productive group member will impact your entire course grade. |
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Final exam (25% of grade). Assignment details: Final exam on precepts of the course to possibly include questions relevant to each group's final project. Coverage will be broad and encompass the entire course syllabus. Grading: Your grade will be determined by the measure of your comprehension and ability to articulate knowledge of the field. |