printer friendly pageANTHRO 13SC: Evolution: The Unity and Diversity of Life
The theory of evolution is one of the most important theories in all the natural and social sciences, and it is crucial to understanding the diversity of life on Earth. This course explores the history of evolutionary thinking from Darwin (and his predecessors) to Dawkins, with an emphasis on the growing tool kit of evolutionary principles for understanding and conserving the Earth's biodiversity. We'll look in detail at key forces of evolutionary change, including natural selection, sexual selection, kin selection, and more, and we'll look at their leading products in adaptation and diversification. Students working singly or in small groups will take on such fascinating challenges as why do hammerhead sharks have a strange front end? Do flying squid really fly? How and why do pistol shrimp generate light underwater? How does the waved albatross thrive without a nest? Among aerodynamic cormorants, why is there one that does not fly? And why do you have a vermiform appendix? These and other peculiarities will help us understand pattern and process in evolution. Far from being an old and esoteric subject, we'll see how evolution offers indispensable tools both for understanding and conserving the wonderful diversity of life on earth.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Durham, W. (PI)
BIO 10SC: Natural History, Marine Biology, and Research
Monterey Bay is home to the nation's largest marine sanctuary and also home to Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station. This course, based at Hopkins, explores the spectacular biology of Monterey Bay and the artistic and political history of the region. We will conduct investigations across all of these contexts toward an inclusive understanding of 'place', ultimately to lead us to explore our own lives in relation to the natural world, historical and cultural milieu, and the direction of our individual life path. The location at the entry point to the Big Sur Coast of California provides a unique outdoor laboratory in which to study the biology of the bay and the adjacent coastal lands. It is also an area with a deep cultural, literary and artistic history. We will meet marine biologists, experts in the literary history of Cannery Row and the writings of John Steinbeck, local artists and photographers, experts in the neuroscience of creativity, as well as people who are very much involved i
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Monterey Bay is home to the nation's largest marine sanctuary and also home to Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station. This course, based at Hopkins, explores the spectacular biology of Monterey Bay and the artistic and political history of the region. We will conduct investigations across all of these contexts toward an inclusive understanding of 'place', ultimately to lead us to explore our own lives in relation to the natural world, historical and cultural milieu, and the direction of our individual life path. The location at the entry point to the Big Sur Coast of California provides a unique outdoor laboratory in which to study the biology of the bay and the adjacent coastal lands. It is also an area with a deep cultural, literary and artistic history. We will meet marine biologists, experts in the literary history of Cannery Row and the writings of John Steinbeck, local artists and photographers, experts in the neuroscience of creativity, as well as people who are very much involved in the forces and fluxes that steer modern culture. This rich and immersive approach provides students a rare opportunity to reflect on their relationships to nature, culture, and their own individual goals.The course emphasizes interactions and discussions. We will be together all of the time, either at our base at the Belden House in Pacific Grove, hiking and camping in Big Sur's pristine Big Creek Reserve on the rocky coast, and traveling to the Tassajara Mountain Zen Center in the Ventana wilderness for several days. This is not an ordinary academic experience, instead it is an adventure of a personal, intellectual, spiritual and physical kind. We welcome people with wide interests; artists, poets, writers, engineers, scientists and musicians. Mostly we invite people with an open mind and a sense of adventure. Students are expected to have read the several books provided as introductory material before the course begins, and each is also expected to become our local expert in an area such as plant identification, bird identification, poetry, weather prediction, photography, history, ethnography, etc. The course requires an individual research project of your choice on a topic related to the general theme. Final reports will be presented at the last meeting of the group and may involve any medium, including written, oral, and performance media. Note: This course will be held at the Hopkins Marine Station in the Monterey region, and housing will be provided nearby. Transportation from campus to the housing site will be provided once students arrive to campus on Monday, September 4 (Labor Day). Transportation to campus from the Belden House in Pacific Grove will be provided on Saturday, September 23.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Thompson, S. (PI)
BIOE 10SC: Needs Finding in Healthcare
Are you on an engineering pathway, but trying to decide if opportunities in healthcare might be of interest to you? Or, are you committed to a career in healthcare, but eager to explore how to incorporate technology innovation into your plans? In either case, Needs Finding in Healthcare is the Sophomore College for you! Many courses offered during the regular academic year provide students with the opportunity to understand healthcare problems and invent new technologies to address them. But none give undergraduates the chance to observe the delivery of healthcare in the real world and identify important unmet needs for themselves - until now! Needs Finding in Healthcare is a Sophomore College course offered by Professor Paul Yock and the Stanford Biodesign team. We¿re looking for students who are passionate about innovation and interested in how technology can be applied to help make healthcare better for patients everywhere. Over approximately three weeks, you'll spend time: Learning
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Are you on an engineering pathway, but trying to decide if opportunities in healthcare might be of interest to you? Or, are you committed to a career in healthcare, but eager to explore how to incorporate technology innovation into your plans? In either case, Needs Finding in Healthcare is the Sophomore College for you! Many courses offered during the regular academic year provide students with the opportunity to understand healthcare problems and invent new technologies to address them. But none give undergraduates the chance to observe the delivery of healthcare in the real world and identify important unmet needs for themselves - until now! Needs Finding in Healthcare is a Sophomore College course offered by Professor Paul Yock and the Stanford Biodesign team. We¿re looking for students who are passionate about innovation and interested in how technology can be applied to help make healthcare better for patients everywhere. Over approximately three weeks, you'll spend time: Learning the fundamentals of the biodesign innovation process for health technology innovation Performing first-hand observations of care delivery in the Stanford's hospital and clinics to identify compelling unmet needs Conducting background research and interacting with physicians and patients to understand and prioritize those needs Brainstorming and building early-stage prototypes to enhance your understanding of the unmet need and critical requirements for solving it In addition, you'll meet experienced innovators from the health technology field and explore different career pathways in this dynamic space. Join us if you want to make a difference at the intersection of medicine and engineering!
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
CEE 17SC: River and Region: The Columbia River and the Shaping of the Pacific Northwest (EARTHSYS 16SC, HISTORY 29SC, POLISCI 14SC)
This seminar will explore the crucial role of the Columbia River in the past, present, and future of the Pacific Northwest. Topics will include the lives and legacies of the indigenous peoples that Lewis and Clark encountered more than two centuries ago; the historic fisheries that attracted thousands of Chinese and, later, Scandinavian workers; the New Deal¿s epic dam-building initiatives beginning in the 1930s; the impact of the Manhattan Project¿s plutonium bomb development at Hanford Atomic Works in WWII; and the twenty-first-century server farms dotted across the Columbia Plateau. We plan to visit with local water managers, farmers, ranchers, loggers, Native American fishermen, and energy administrators, as well as elected officials and environmental activists, to examine the hydrologic, meteorologic, and geologic bases of the river¿s water and energy resources, and the practical, social, environmental, economic, and political issues surrounding their development in the Pacific No
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This seminar will explore the crucial role of the Columbia River in the past, present, and future of the Pacific Northwest. Topics will include the lives and legacies of the indigenous peoples that Lewis and Clark encountered more than two centuries ago; the historic fisheries that attracted thousands of Chinese and, later, Scandinavian workers; the New Deal¿s epic dam-building initiatives beginning in the 1930s; the impact of the Manhattan Project¿s plutonium bomb development at Hanford Atomic Works in WWII; and the twenty-first-century server farms dotted across the Columbia Plateau. We plan to visit with local water managers, farmers, ranchers, loggers, Native American fishermen, and energy administrators, as well as elected officials and environmental activists, to examine the hydrologic, meteorologic, and geologic bases of the river¿s water and energy resources, and the practical, social, environmental, economic, and political issues surrounding their development in the Pacific Northwest region.The Columbia River and its watershed provide a revealing lens on a host of issues. A transnational, multi-state river with the largest residual populations of anadromous salmonids in the continental US, it is a major source of renewable hydroelectric power. (The Grand Coulee dam powerhouse is the largest-capacity hydropower facility in the US; nearly 50% of Oregon¿s electricity generation flows from hydropower; in Washington State it¿s nearly two-thirds, the highest in the nation.) The river provides a major bulk commodity transportation link from the interior West to the sea via an elaborate system of locks. It irrigates nearly 700,000 acres of sprawling wheat ranches and fruit farms in the federally administered Columbia Basin Project. We will look at all these issues with respect to rapid climate change, ecosystem impacts, economics, and public policy.We will begin with classroom briefings on campus, in preparation for the two-week field portion of the seminar. We plan to then travel widely throughout the Columbia basin, visiting water and energy facilities across the watershed, e.g., hydro, solar, wind, and natural gas power plants; dams and reservoirs with their powerhouses, fish passage facilities, navigation locks, and flood-mitigation systems; tribal organizations; irrigation projects; the Hanford Nuclear Reservation; and offices of regulatory agencies. We hope to meet with relevant policy experts and public officials, along with several of the stakeholders in the basin.Over the summer students will be responsible for assigned readings from several sources, including monographs, online materials, and recent news articles. During the trip, students will work in small groups to analyze and assess one aspect of the river¿s utilization, and the challenges to responsible management going forward. The seminar will culminate in presentations to an audience of Stanford alumni in Portland, Oregon.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Freyberg, D. (PI)
CHEMENG 12SC: An Exploration of Art Materials: The Intersection of Art and Science
There is growing interest in the intersection of art and science, whether from artists adapting technology to suit their visions or from scientists and engineers seeking to explain various visual effects. To take advantage of possible creative sparks at the art/science interface, it is necessary for fuzzies and techies to have some knowledge of the language used by the other side. This interface will be explored through examining approaches used by an artist and an engineer in the context of the materials science of cultural objects. In-class lectures, hands-on studio practice, and field trips will be used to illustrate these different perspectives. At the heart of the scientific approach is the notion that a cultural object, e.g., a painting, is a physical entity comprising materials with different physical properties and different responses to environmental stresses presented by light, heat, and water. In support of this outlook, in-class lectures and discussions will focus on the ba
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There is growing interest in the intersection of art and science, whether from artists adapting technology to suit their visions or from scientists and engineers seeking to explain various visual effects. To take advantage of possible creative sparks at the art/science interface, it is necessary for fuzzies and techies to have some knowledge of the language used by the other side. This interface will be explored through examining approaches used by an artist and an engineer in the context of the materials science of cultural objects. In-class lectures, hands-on studio practice, and field trips will be used to illustrate these different perspectives. At the heart of the scientific approach is the notion that a cultural object, e.g., a painting, is a physical entity comprising materials with different physical properties and different responses to environmental stresses presented by light, heat, and water. In support of this outlook, in-class lectures and discussions will focus on the basic concepts of color, optics, mechanics, composite structures, and response of the object to environmental stress, and we will visit Bay Area museums to see how artists employ such techniques. The hands-on studio experience is designed to increase students' confidence and develop their appreciation of differences in materials. It is not necessary to have any artistic training, only a willingness to experiment. The in-class studio projects will include working with line and shadow; color, binders, and mordants; global sources of pigments; substrates and writing; and material failure. Students will make one technical presentation on a topic in one of the five areas relevant to a painting: color, optics, mechanics, composites, and stress response. In addition, they will prepare one essay on the issues surrounding the intersection of art and science. Finally, they will complete a project related to one of the thematic areas covered in the hands-on studio sessions and make a final oral presentation describing their project.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
Instructors:
Frank, C. (PI)
;
Loesch-Frank, S. (PI)
CLASSICS 17SC: Classical California
If you counted the many modern guises in which ancient Greece and Rome show up in our lives, how many could you find? You might consider, for example, words we speak, films we watch, buildings we use, political concepts we debate, styles we admire, myths we read. This course is our chance to explore such rich diversity, emphasizing the more material kinds of `classical remembrance. Our focus will be on California, its architecture, its collections of ancient objects. Readings, to be discussed in class, will inform our treasure hunt, which will start with Stanford University collections and proceed farther afield. Pandemic permitting, we'll visit the Getty Villa in Malibu, one of the world's foremost collections of ancient art housed in the imposing reconstruction of an ancient Roman villa. We'll archive our favorite discoveries, some obvious and some intriguingly obscure, in a digital museum which our class will co-create from scratch. But this will be a treasure hunt with a difference
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If you counted the many modern guises in which ancient Greece and Rome show up in our lives, how many could you find? You might consider, for example, words we speak, films we watch, buildings we use, political concepts we debate, styles we admire, myths we read. This course is our chance to explore such rich diversity, emphasizing the more material kinds of `classical remembrance. Our focus will be on California, its architecture, its collections of ancient objects. Readings, to be discussed in class, will inform our treasure hunt, which will start with Stanford University collections and proceed farther afield. Pandemic permitting, we'll visit the Getty Villa in Malibu, one of the world's foremost collections of ancient art housed in the imposing reconstruction of an ancient Roman villa. We'll archive our favorite discoveries, some obvious and some intriguingly obscure, in a digital museum which our class will co-create from scratch. But this will be a treasure hunt with a difference: while pursuing it we'll develop critical awareness about the very nature of ancient Greece and Rome and its legacies. Some of the questions to discuss are: What does the term `classical' convey? How might we weigh this supposed classicism against other traditions? Which ancient voices are heard and which remain silent? To whom do the legacies of ancient Greece and Rome belong? What are the ethics involved in collecting classical antiquities? How does antiquity `read' our very selves, individually and collectively? All are welcome, whether you're new to ancient studies or an old hand. Newcomers will get a uniquely experiential introduction to ancient Greece and Rome. Others will have the opportunity to deepen selected aspects of their classical knowledge. All students will emerge from the class with a broad overview of Greco-Roman pasts; will appreciate the range of human engagements with Greco-Roman antiquity, particularly in its local and regional manifestations; will understand the nature of the 'classical' in relation to other artistic traditions; will understand the role of ancient Greece and Rome in relation to fundamental human values and questions.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Parker, G. (PI)
EARTHSYS 16SC: River and Region: The Columbia River and the Shaping of the Pacific Northwest (CEE 17SC, HISTORY 29SC, POLISCI 14SC)
This seminar will explore the crucial role of the Columbia River in the past, present, and future of the Pacific Northwest. Topics will include the lives and legacies of the indigenous peoples that Lewis and Clark encountered more than two centuries ago; the historic fisheries that attracted thousands of Chinese and, later, Scandinavian workers; the New Deal¿s epic dam-building initiatives beginning in the 1930s; the impact of the Manhattan Project¿s plutonium bomb development at Hanford Atomic Works in WWII; and the twenty-first-century server farms dotted across the Columbia Plateau. We plan to visit with local water managers, farmers, ranchers, loggers, Native American fishermen, and energy administrators, as well as elected officials and environmental activists, to examine the hydrologic, meteorologic, and geologic bases of the river¿s water and energy resources, and the practical, social, environmental, economic, and political issues surrounding their development in the Pacific No
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This seminar will explore the crucial role of the Columbia River in the past, present, and future of the Pacific Northwest. Topics will include the lives and legacies of the indigenous peoples that Lewis and Clark encountered more than two centuries ago; the historic fisheries that attracted thousands of Chinese and, later, Scandinavian workers; the New Deal¿s epic dam-building initiatives beginning in the 1930s; the impact of the Manhattan Project¿s plutonium bomb development at Hanford Atomic Works in WWII; and the twenty-first-century server farms dotted across the Columbia Plateau. We plan to visit with local water managers, farmers, ranchers, loggers, Native American fishermen, and energy administrators, as well as elected officials and environmental activists, to examine the hydrologic, meteorologic, and geologic bases of the river¿s water and energy resources, and the practical, social, environmental, economic, and political issues surrounding their development in the Pacific Northwest region.The Columbia River and its watershed provide a revealing lens on a host of issues. A transnational, multi-state river with the largest residual populations of anadromous salmonids in the continental US, it is a major source of renewable hydroelectric power. (The Grand Coulee dam powerhouse is the largest-capacity hydropower facility in the US; nearly 50% of Oregon¿s electricity generation flows from hydropower; in Washington State it¿s nearly two-thirds, the highest in the nation.) The river provides a major bulk commodity transportation link from the interior West to the sea via an elaborate system of locks. It irrigates nearly 700,000 acres of sprawling wheat ranches and fruit farms in the federally administered Columbia Basin Project. We will look at all these issues with respect to rapid climate change, ecosystem impacts, economics, and public policy.We will begin with classroom briefings on campus, in preparation for the two-week field portion of the seminar. We plan to then travel widely throughout the Columbia basin, visiting water and energy facilities across the watershed, e.g., hydro, solar, wind, and natural gas power plants; dams and reservoirs with their powerhouses, fish passage facilities, navigation locks, and flood-mitigation systems; tribal organizations; irrigation projects; the Hanford Nuclear Reservation; and offices of regulatory agencies. We hope to meet with relevant policy experts and public officials, along with several of the stakeholders in the basin.Over the summer students will be responsible for assigned readings from several sources, including monographs, online materials, and recent news articles. During the trip, students will work in small groups to analyze and assess one aspect of the river¿s utilization, and the challenges to responsible management going forward. The seminar will culminate in presentations to an audience of Stanford alumni in Portland, Oregon.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Freyberg, D. (PI)
EDUC 15SC: Remix | Reading and Writing DJ Culture
"last night a DJ saved my life" --Indeep (1982 song) In a moment that has been widely described being defined by "remix culture," what might we learn from the traditions and practices of the artists who gave us the remix? This course looks at the DJ as an crucial figure, a rhetor even, who influences both US and world culture and examines the DJ's practices as writing practices. From there we ask how other kinds of writing--public, academic, creative--can be informed by DJs and DJ culture. We will study specific practices like scratching, remixing, and the mixtape as well as different approaches and spaces in which DJs have shaped culture, from disco to Hip Hop to world music, from radio DJs to party DJs to beat-juggling and turntablism. In addition to our readings, viewings and work in class, participants in the course will be able to participate in a DJ workshop introducing basic techniques like mixing, and will attend at least 1 live DJ set in San Francisco or Oakland. The course will make turntables and a DJ controller available for students to work on mixes and DJ techniques live, in class.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Banks, A. (PI)
EE 11SC: Dream It, Build It!
The world is filled with electronic devices! There seem to be more and more all the time. Wouldn't it be cool to hack and build stuff? Bend electronics to your will? Cloud connect your own stuff? Dream It, Build It is a great place to start. Designed for folks with no experience, it will take you from zero to capable in short order. We will show you some of the worst kept secrets of how things are built and help you build stuff of your own. We'll start out with some basics about how to build things, how to measure things, how to hook stuff together and end up being able to make cloud-connected gizmos. [This is a SOPHOMORE COLLEGE course. Visit
soco.stanford.edu for full details.]
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Clark, S. (PI)
;
Pauly, J. (PI)
GEOLSCI 10SC: Mining and the Green Economy
The average person in the United States uses ~25 tons (the weight of approximately 20 mid-size cars) of raw materials every year to maintain our modern lifestyle. These materials, especially metals, are mined from the rare and unique places where geological forces have concentrated such elements. Most people are well aware of the destruction that has been wrought by past and present mines to obtain these metals, and from an environmental standpoint are actively against many or all mining projects. Such an environmental stance may be difficult to maintain in the future, however, given the urgent need to combat the climate crisis. Put simply, the most likely path to eliminating fossil fuel use is the electrification of the world, or the 'green economy.' This new infrastructure (including energy generation, such as wind farms; energy storage, such as batteries; energy transport, such as electrical wires; and electrified everything, including cars, planes, tractors, lawn mowers, etc.) will
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The average person in the United States uses ~25 tons (the weight of approximately 20 mid-size cars) of raw materials every year to maintain our modern lifestyle. These materials, especially metals, are mined from the rare and unique places where geological forces have concentrated such elements. Most people are well aware of the destruction that has been wrought by past and present mines to obtain these metals, and from an environmental standpoint are actively against many or all mining projects. Such an environmental stance may be difficult to maintain in the future, however, given the urgent need to combat the climate crisis. Put simply, the most likely path to eliminating fossil fuel use is the electrification of the world, or the 'green economy.' This new infrastructure (including energy generation, such as wind farms; energy storage, such as batteries; energy transport, such as electrical wires; and electrified everything, including cars, planes, tractors, lawn mowers, etc.) will require massive quantities of mineral resources in order to achieve at the necessary scale. It is estimated that the world will require annual production increases of ~450% for battery metals such as lithium or cobalt and increases of 10% for base metals such as copper to meet the demand in energy technologies predicted by 2050. This means increasing mine production by over an order of magnitude even for base metals. Further, once used in infrastructure these metals cannot be recycled, meaning that the path to our green future most likely involves more mining of these critical metals. The question then becomes how we can sustainably produce these mineral resources at the least societal and environmental cost. You will: Learn how geological forces create mineral deposits; Learn the basic geological history of Montana; Visit past an environmental Superfund site at a historical mine, and learn what is being done to remediate it; Visit existing mines to learn about the mine production process, environmental problems, and modern remediation techniques;Meet with mining, civic, and environmental stakeholders at a controversial mining project. This course will involve several days on Stanford campus learning about the scale of mineral resources predicted to be necessary for the green economy as well as basic ore geology. We will then travel to the Judson Mead Field Station in the Tobacco Root Mountains of southwestern Montana. This will be our home for a six-day fieldtrip exploring Montana geological history and mining issues. We will return to Stanford to complete a short research project on a controversial mine project, and investigate possible alternatives. Projects will be presented to the class and the broader SoCo community. While we may not reach conclusions to the multi-faceted question about how best to produce these resources, you will know the issues, problems, and possibilities associated with sustainably producing the metals needed for the green revolution.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Sperling, E. (PI)
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