ILAS Seminar-E2 :Physics of Life
| Numbering Code | U-LAS70 10002 SE50 | Year/Term | 2022 ・ Second semester | |
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| Number of Credits | 2 | Course Type | seminar | |
| Target Year | Mainly 1st year students | Target Student | For all majors | |
| Language | English | Day/Period | Wed.5 | |
| Instructor name | DECHANT，Andreas (Graduate School of Science Senior Lecturer) | |||
| Outline and Purpose of the Course |
The purpose of this seminar is to learn about the various ways in which physics can be used to understand living matter, from the motion of small molecular machines in the cells of our bodies to the collective behavior of swarms of animals. We will also learn how the physical description of living matter can allow us to emulate it to develop new materials and devices. In this seminar, we will learn about selected topics in biophysics by reading articles from scientific journals. For each topic, we will start with one or two weeks of lectures explaining the necessary background. After that, we will read a scientific article together. We will discuss the contents of the article and its importance for the field of biophysics. The following week, some students will be asked to give a brief presentation about a part of last week’s article. |
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| Course Goals |
- Understanding how living matter is different. - Becoming familiar with some of the techniques currently used in biophysics. - Learning to read scientific articles and present their contents. |
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| Schedule and Contents |
Class 1-3: Motion and machines at small scales. Class 4-6: Biological and artificial molecular motors. Class 7-9: Randomness, noise, and fluctuations. Class 10-11: Collective motion and swarming. Class 12-14: Polymers and DNA. Class 15：Feedback |
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| Evaluation Methods and Policy | The students will be graded based on their participation in class (33%) and their presentation (67%). Students will need at least 60% in total to pass. | |||
| Course Requirements | Knowledge about statistical mechanics and/or thermodynamics is helpful but not required. | |||
| Study outside of Class (preparation and review) | Each student will be asked to prepare a short presentation on a part of a scientific article once during the course. | |||
| Textbooks | Textbooks/References | No textbook, articles will be given as handouts. | ||
