Introduction to Nano-Biology
This course introduces graduate students in Mechanical Engineering to the nascent field of Nano-Biology. The course is comprised of both formal lectures and projects. Lectures will include an introduction to both molecular biology (components of cells, protein structure and function, DNA, gene regulation, etc.) and nanotechnology ("bottom up" and "top down" nanotechnologies), an overview of current instrumentation in biology, an in-depth description of the recent integration of molecular biology with nanotechnology (for sensing or labeling purposes, elucidating information on cells, etc.), and an introduction to Systems Biology (design principles of biological circuits). Students will read and present a variety of current journal papers to the class and lead a discussion on the various works.
Topics
- The course introduces engineering students to the interplay between Nanotechnology and Biology and serves to 1) broaden the areas of research that students might not have necessarily considered, 2) expose students to cutting-edge research, and 3) develop analytical skills.
- Students should be able to critique methods and techniques that researchers have used to study and probe biological systems at the nano-scale. They will learn how to write research proposals and how to give an effective presentation. Through the research proposals, students will learn about the scientific-research process: formulating the problem, determining the appropriate experimental methods, interpreting the results, and arriving at a conclusion. Through presentations, students will gain valuable experience in public speaking and learn the process by which they would have to propose a research problem, be it in academia or industry.
Official catalogue course objectives and student learning outcomes
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027