20.430J | Fall 2015 | Graduate

Fields, Forces, and Flows in Biological Systems

Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Prerequisites

6.013 Electromagnetics and Applications

2.005 Thermal-Fluids Engineering I

10.302 Transport Processes

Description

This course covers the fundamental driving forces for transport—chemical gradients, electrical interactions, and fluid flow—as applied to the biology and biophysics of molecules, cells, and tissues.

Textbook

Required Textbook

Grodzinsky, Alan. Field, Forces and Flows in Biological Systems. Garland Science, 2011. ISBN: 9780815342120. [Preview with Google Books]

Supplementary Textbook

Truskey, George A., Fan Yuan, and David F. Katz. Transport Phenomena in Biological Bystems. Pearson, 2009. ISBN: 9780131569881.

Grading

ACTIVITIES PERCENTAGES
Quizzes (Two take-home quizzes) 40% (20% each)
Assignments 30%
Project (Term paper) 30%

Collaboration Policy

Homework assignments are essential for learning the course material, and a serious individual effort should be made to solve each problem. Students are encouraged to form interdisciplinary teams to discuss with other class members the underlying concepts and approaches. However, such discussions must stop short of jointly prepared solutions. That is, the work turned in must reflect one’s individual efforts.