Graduate Course Atlas - Spring Semester 2007

Content: Maxwell's Equations; Variational Principles; Conservation Laws; Green's Functions;
Retarded Green's Functions; Radiation-Field and Source Viewpoints; Models of
Antennas; Spectral Distribution of Radiation; Cerenkov Radiation; Synchrotron
Radiation; Propagation in Dielectric Media; Waveguides; Scattering by Small Obstacles; Diffraction.

Text: Classical Electrodynamics by Schwinger, DeRaad, Milton, Tsai

Content: Entropy, temperature, free energy, statistical mechanics, Gibbs ensembles, partition function, ideal gas, Fermi and Bose gases, principles of classical thermodynamics, Carnot Theorem, phase transitions, and critical phenomena.

Prerequisite: Physics 421 or equivalent.

Content: The course focuses on how structure and dynamics at the molecular level contribute to the observed function of biological systems, with a specific emphasis on proteins. An introduction to protein structure and dynamics is given, followed by a detailed examination of specific protein systems, including those involved in solar energy conversion, visual transduction and molecular motion (motors). A parallel focus is on the physical techniques of spectroscopy and scattering that are used to obtain the molecular-scale information. The physical techniques are described in the context of the problems in molecular biophysics that they have solved.

Audience: The course is intended for students in the physical, chemical or biological sciences who wish to understand fundamental molecular "operating principles" of biological systems, and specifically, proteins.

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.

Particulars: Three take home exams; problem sets; term paper.

Prerequisite: (Written Permission of Instructor Required Prior to Pre-Registration)

Prerequisite: (Written Permission of Instructor Required Prior to Pre-Registration)

Content: Introduction to fluid dynamics for biologists, chemists, and physicists. Emphasis will be placed upon developing intuition for fluid dynamics from biological examples.

Audience: Advanced undergraduates and graduate students in physics, chemistry, or math.

Prerequisites: Multidimensional calculus AND Physics 361, 365 or consent of instructor.

Particulars: TBA

Texts: Elementary Fluid Dynamics, Acheson
Life in Moving Fluides, Vogel

Prerequisite: (Written Permission of Instructor Required Prior to Pre-Registration)

Prerequisite: (Written Permission of Instructor Required Prior to Pre-Registration)

Prerequisite: (Written Permission of Instructor Required Prior to Pre-Registration)

Prerequisite: (Written Permission of Instructor Required Prior to Pre-Registration)