ENGN 295 - Intermediate Special Topics in Engineering

Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.

Prerequisites: PHYS 111 and 112.Intermediate work in bioengineering, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics or materials science. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits with permission and if the topics are different.

Topic for Fall 2010:

ENGN 295: Intermediate Special Topics in Bioengineering (3). Prerequisite: Physics 112, or permission of the instructor. Interdisciplinary study of the physical principles of animal navigation and sensory mechanisms. This course integrates biology, physics, engineering, and quantitative methods to study how an animal’s physiology is optimized to perform a critical function, as well as how these biological systems inspire new technologies. Topics include: long-distance navigation and migration; locomotion; optical, thermal, and auditory sensing; bioelectricity; biomaterials; and swarm synchronicity. Some examples of questions addressed are: How does a loggerhead turtle navigate during a 9,000 mile open-ocean swim to return to the beach where it was born? How does a blowfly hover and out-maneuver an F-16? How is the mantis shrimp eye guiding the next revolution in DVD technology? This course is intended for students interested in working on problems at the boundary of biology and physics/engineering, and is appropriate for those who have more experience in one field than the other. Lectures, reading and discussion of research literature, and hands-on field-work, where appropriate. Erickson.