1. Quantum Mechanics (Clementi)

CHEM 430/ 530

This course develops Quantum Mechanical Principles and applies them to the important foundational problems in atomic, molecular and chemical systems, such as atomic structure and chemical bonding.

Note:  Quantum Mechanics I (PHYS 521) may be taken instead of CHEM 430/530

2. Introduction to Solid State Physics (Kono)

PHYS 563/
ELEC 563

Introduction to the fundamental concepts of crystalline solids, including the Drude theory of metals, crystal structures, Bloch’s theorem, band structure, effective mass approximation, phonons, plasmons, excitons, and polaritons.

 3. Computational Electrodynamics/Nanophotonics & Nanophotonics CAD Studio (Nordlander/Massoud)

ELEC 605/

PHYS 605

This is a course in numerical methods in solving electromagnetic problems, featuring finite difference time domain method, boundary element method, and finite element method. This course will also make full utilization of the Rice electromagnetic simulation tools based on highly parallelized FDTD code in the design of Nanophotonics components in a CAD studio format.

4. Systems Physiology (Drezek)

BIOE 572

This course teaches the fundamental of physiology at the organism, tissue, and cellular levels. Enphasis is on engineering aspects of physiology.

5. Topics in Nanophotonics (Halas/Hafner)

ELEC 603

This course is a seminar where all IGERT students and their advisors meet to discuss research problems both in formal presentations and in an informal "open-mic" session. This course also includes a Nanophotonics journal club featuring just-published papers. All IGERT students will be enrolled in this seminar throughout the course of their graduate study.

6. Ethics and Responsible Research (Lane)

NSCI 511

An introduction to the policy, politics, ethics and legal issues that relate to science and technology-discovery and application.  This course identifies ways in which government, laws, regulations, programs and actions, as well as business policy and practices can promote or inhibit advances in science and technology and applications for the public good.  Case studies will be used and experts from various fields will be invited to meet with the class.

Note:  This class will not be offered 2006-2007.

 Lasers in Medicine and Bioengineering (Anvari)

 BIOE 584

This course will provide an overview of various types of interactions between lasers and biological tissues. Methods of optical properties measurements, mathematical modeling of light propagation, and selected therapeutic applications of lasers will be addressed. Optically based diagnostic techniques, including absorption and scattering-based techniques, will be introduced. Physics of optical tweezers and their applications in biomedical sciences will be discussed.

Note:  This course is not offered 2006-2007

 Laser Spectroscopy (Tittel)

 ELEC 568

Introduction to the theory and practice of laser spectroscopy as applied to atomic and molecular systems. The course covers the fundamentals of spectroscopy, lasers and spectroscopic light sources, high resolution and time resolved laser chemistry, environmental science and medicine.

 Radiative Heat Transfer II (Bayazitoglu)

 MECH 684

Study of radiative transfer in the presence of absorbing, emitting, and scattering media. Includes combined radiation, conduction and convection, as well as heat transfer in various realistic contexts.

 Characterization & Fabrication at the Nanoscale (Natelson)

 PHYS 539

Introduction to the study and creation of nanoscale structures, emphasizing relevant physical principles. Techniques covered include optical, X-ray, electron-based and scanned-probe characterization, as well as patterning, deposition and removal of material.

 Molecular Biophysics (Wittung-Stafshede)

 BIOS 481

Emphasis on biophysical methods used to study conformation and dynamics of biological macromolecules, in particular proteins. Focus will be on spectroscopic methods, transport processes, chromatography and sedimentation, as well as light scattering and calorimetry. Ligand protein interactions, chemical kinetics and protein folding will also be covered. 

 Computational Molecular Biophysics (Ma)

 BIOE 589/BIOS 589

This is a course designed for students in computationally-oriented biomedical and bioengineering concentrations to introduce the principles and methods used for the simulations and modeling of macromolecules of biological interest. Protein conformation and dynamics are emphasized. Empirical energy function and molecular dynamics calculations, as well as other approaches, are described. Specific biological problems are discussed to illustrate their methodology.

 Optical Imaging (Saggau)

 BIOS 505/BIOE 505

This course includes a theoretical portion which will introduce the fundamentals of optical imaging of neural activity, present the devices that are currently employed, and review applications and discuss their results. In addition, in a practical part, students will design, set up, and perform simple in vitro experiments to gain practical experience with this exciting and powerful technology. 

  Supramolecular Chemistry (Hartgerink)

 CHEM 547

An examination of noncovalent interactions and their impact in biology, chemistry, and engineering. Topics will include self-assembly, molecular recognition, protein folding and structure, nucleic acid structure, polymer organization, crystallization and applications of the above for the design and synthesis of nanostructured materials. 

 Nanobiophotonics (Drezek)

 BIOE 585

This course will explore the biological and biomedical applications of nanophotonic materials. The course will include a lecture-based component which (1) reviews relevant optical principles, (2) describes current optical spectroscopy and imaging approaches, (3) discusses fabrication, characterization, optical properties, and strategies for molecular targeting of nanomaterials, and (4) summarizes emerging applications of nanophotonics in biotechnology. In an accompanying lab component, the student will gain practical experience in optical spectroscopy and imaging of nanomaterials in relevant model biological systems.

Note:  This course is not offered 2006-2007

Modeling & Design of High Speed Integrated Circuits(Massoud)

ELEC 521

This course gives an overview of the main critical issues in the design of high performance VLSI circuits. The course focuses on the modeling and design automation of high performance CMOS circuits. The course covers scaling trends in CMOS technologies, interconnect modeling, power modeling, noise in digital CMOS circuits, high-performance CMOS design methodologies, model order reduction techniques, high performance clock distribution design, electromigration effects and power distribution. 

Fundamentals of Quantum Optics (Nordlander)

PHYS 572

Discussion of quantization and statistical properties of light fields; interaction between atoms and light; non-classical states; basic laser theory; quantum effects of nonlinear optics; introduction to atom optics. 

Note:    Added to the IGERT elective courses in Fall 2006

  ULTRAFAST OPTICAL PHENOMENA

  ELEC 569

  This course covers the generation, propagation, and measurement of short laser pulses, of duration less than one picosecond. Concepts include mode locking, the effects of dispersion, optical pulse amplification, and time-domain non-linear optical phenomena. Intended as an introduction to ultrafast phenomena for graduate students or advanced undergraduates; a basic understanding of electromagnetic waves and of quantum mechanics is assumed. Cross-list: PHYS 569.  

Note:  This course was added to the IGERT elective courses in Spring 2007

 COMPUTING DESIGN USING NANOTECHNOLOGIES

  ELEC 527

    CMOS transistors, building elements of modern computing, are entering the nanometer era. This course aims at providing basic knowledge of nanotechnologies-based computing. It starts with addressing immediate challenges facing CMOS-based computing. It then covers emerging non-standard CMOS and non-CMOS devices, their physical properties, fabrication, circuit design, and impacts on the existing design flow and computing paradigms. The course consist of four interleaving components: lectures by instructors, presentations of advanced topics by students, chemistry labs, and final projects.

 Note:  This course was added to the IGERT elective courses in Spring 2007