This is a one-semester class about gauge/gravity duality (often called AdS/CFT) and its applications.

Introduction to the main concepts of string theory to undergraduates. Since string theory is quantum mechanics of a relativistic string, the foundations of the subject can be explained to students exposed to both special relativity (8.033) and basic quantum mechanics (8.05). Subject develops the aspects of string theory and makes it accessible to students familiar with basic electromagnetism (8.02) and statistical mechanics (8.044). This includes the study of D-branes and string thermodynamics. This course introduces string theory to undergraduate and is based upon Prof. Zwiebach's textbook entitled A First Course in String Theory. Since string theory is quantum mechanics of a relativistic string, the foundations of the subject can be explained to students exposed to both special relativity and basic quantum mechanics. This course develops the aspects of string theory and makes it accessible to students familiar with basic electromagnetism and statistical mechanics.

The strong force which bind quarks together is described by a relativistic quantum field theory called quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Subject surveys: The QCD Langrangian, asymptotic freedom and deep inelastic scattering, jets, the QCD vacuum, instantons and the U(1) problem, lattice guage theory, and other phases of QCD.

Study of condensed matter systems where interactions between electrons play an important role. Topics vary depending on lecturer but may include low-dimension magnetic and electronic systems, disorder and quantum transport, magnetic impurities (the Kondo problem), quantum spin systems, the Hubbard model and high temperature superconductors. Topics are chosen to illustrate the application of diagrammatic techniques, field theory approaches, and renormalization group methods in condensed matter physics. In this course we shall develop theoretical methods suitable for the description of the many-body phenomena, such as Hamiltonian second-quantized operator formalism, Greens functions, path integral, functional integral, and the quantum kinetic equation. The concepts to be introduced include, but are not limited to, the random phase approximation, the mean field theory (aka saddle-point, or semiclassical approximation), the tunneling dynamics in imaginary time, instantons, Berry phase, coherent state path integral, renormalization group.

Computer-based methods for the analysis of large-scale structural systems. Modeling strategies for complex structures. Application to tall buildings, cable-stayed bridges, and tension structures. Introduction to the theory of active structural control. Design of classical feedback control systems for civil structures. Simulation studies using motion lab.

Basic philosophy of planning and design of structures. Loads on structures. Design criteria and factors of safety. Design of reinforced concrete structural elements using the ultimate strength design method. Load factor design of structural steel members and connections. Structural system design concepts. Approximate and computational analysis methods. Emphasis on problem-based learning through design project(s) on which students work as design teams. Special topics such as design of cable structures and prestressed concrete structures. Constructability and structural control. This course aims at providing students with a solid background on the principles of structural engineering design. Students will be exposed to the theories and concepts of both concrete and steel design and analysis both at the element and system levels. Hands-on design experience and skills will be gained and learned through problem sets and a comprehensive design project. An understanding of real-world open-ended design issues will be developed. Besides regular lectures, weekly recitations and project discussion sessions will be held.

Introduces mechanics of rock deformation. Discusses recognition, interpretation, and mechanics of faults, folds, structural features of igneous and metamorphic rocks, and superposed deformations. Introduces regional structural geology and tectonics. Laboratory includes techniques of structural analysis, recognition and interpretation of structures on geologic maps, and construction of interpretive cross sections. Structural geology is the study of processes and products of rock deformation. This course introduces the techniques of structural geology through a survey of the mechanics of rock deformation, a survey of the features and geometries of faults and folds, and techniques of strain analysis. Regional structural geology and tectonics are introduced. Class lectures are supplemented by lab exercises and demonstrations as well as field trips to local outcrops.

This course covers the fundamental concepts of structural mechanics with applications to marine, civil, and mechanical structures. Topics include analysis of small deflections of beams, moderately large deflections of beams, columns, cables, and shafts; elastic and plastic buckling of columns, thin walled sections and plates; exact and approximate methods; energy methods; principle of virtual work; introduction to failure analysis of structures. We will include examples from civil, mechanical, offshore, and ship structures such as the collision and grounding of ships.

Structural components in nuclear power plant systems, their functional purposes, operating conditions, and mechanical-structural design requirements. Combines mechanics techniques with models of material behavior to determine adequacy of component design. Considerations include mechanical loading, brittle fracture, inelastic behavior, elevated temperatures, neutron irradiation, and seismic effects.

The Core Mantle Boundary (CMB) represents one of the most important physical and chemical discontinuities of the deep Earth as it separates the solid state, convective lower mantle from the liquid outer core. In this seminar course, we will examine our current understanding of the CMB region from integrated seismological, mineral physics and geodynamical perspectives. Instructors will introduce state-of-the-art methodologies that are employed to characterize the CMB region and relevant papers will be discussed in class. Topics will include CMB detection and topography, D'' anisotropy, seismic velocity anomalies (e.g., ultra-low velocity zones), temperature, chemical reactions, phase relations, and mineral fabrications at the core-mantle boundary. These results will be integrated to address the CMB's fundamental role in both mantle and core dynamics.

Provides a comprehensive introduction to crystalline structure, crystal chemistry, and bonding in rock-forming minerals. Introduces the theory relating crystal structure and crystal symmetry to physical properties such as refractive index, elastic modulus, and seismic velocity. Surveys the distribution of silicate, oxide, and metallic minerals in the interiors and on the surfaces of planets, and discusses the processes that led to their formation.

Provides an integrated approach to understanding the practice of engineering in the real world. Students research the life cycle of a major engineering project, new technology, or startup company from multiple perspectives: technical, economic, political, cultural. Emphasis on analyzing engineering artifacts, understanding documentation, framing logical arguments, communicating effectively, and working in teams.

Taking as its starting point the works of one of Britain's most respected, prolific—and funny—living dramatists, this seminar will explore a wide range of knowledge in fields such as math, philosophy, politics, history and art. The careful reading and discussion of plays by (Sir) Tom Stoppard and some of his most compelling contemporaries (including Caryl Churchill, Anna Deveare Smith and Howard Barker) will allow us to time-travel and explore other cultures, and to think about the medium of drama as well as one writer's work in depth. Some seminar participants will report on earlier plays that influenced these writers, others will research everything from Lord Byron's poetry to the bridges of Konigsberg, from Dadaism to Charter 77. Employing a variety of critical approaches (both theoretical and theatrical), we will consider what postmodernity means, as applied to these plays. In the process, we will analyze how drama connects with both the culture it represents and that which it addresses in performance. We will also explore the wit and verbal energy of these contemporary dramatists…not to mention, how Fermat's theorem, classical translation, and chaos theory become the stuff of stage comedy.

Intensive study of an important topic or period in drama. Close analysis of major plays, enriched by critical readings and attention to historical and theatrical contexts. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication. Topic for Fall: Renaissance Drama. This course explores the creation (and creativity) of the modern scientific and cultural world through study of western Europe in the 17th century, the age of Descartes and Newton, Shakespeare, Rembrandt and MoliĚŹre. The class compares period thinking to present-day debates about the scientific method, art, religion, and society. This team-taught, interdisciplinary subject draws on a wide range of literary, dramatic, historical, and scientific texts and images, and involves theatrical experimentation as well as reading, writing, researching and conversing.

Unlike film, theater in America does not have a ratings board that censors content. So plays have had more freedom to explore and to transgress normative culture. Yet censorship of the theater has been part of American culture from the beginning, and continues today. How and why does this happen, and who decides whether a play is too dangerous to see or to teach? Are plays dangerous? Sinful? Even demonic? In our seminar, we will study plays that have been censored, either legally or extra-legally (i.e. refused production, closed down during production, denied funding, or taken off school reading lists). We'll look at laws, both national and local, relating to the "obscene", as well as unofficial practices, and think about the way censorship operates in American life now. And of course we will study the offending texts, themselves, to find what is really dangerous about them, for ourselves.

Intensive study of a range of texts by a single author or by a limited group of authors whose achievements are mutually illuminating. Some attention to narrative theory, and biographical and cultural backgrounds. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication. Topic: Joyce's Ulysses and Its Legacy.

Intensive study of a range of texts by a single author or by a limited group of authors whose achievements are mutually illuminating. Some attention to narrative theory, and biographical and cultural backgrounds. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication. Topic: Joyce's Ulysses and Its Legacy. This seminar looks at two bestselling nineteenth-century American authors whose works made the subject of slavery popular among mainstream readers. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain have subsequently become canonized and reviled, embraced and banned by individuals and groups at both ends of the political and cultural spectrum and everywhere in between.

Intensive study of films of a particular period or genre, or films by a single director. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication. Topic: Technologies of Seeing: Pre-cinema to Early Cinema. This course investigates relationships between two media, film and literature, studying works linked across the two media by genre, topic, and style. It aims to sharpen appreciation of major works of cinema and of literary narrative. The course explores how artworks challenge and cross cultural, political and aesthetic boundaries. It includes some attention to theory of narrative. Films to be studied include works by Akira Kurosawa, John Ford, Francis Ford Coppolla, Clint Eastwood, Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, and Federico Fellini, among others. Literary works include texts by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Shakespeare, Cervantes, HonorĚŠ de Balzac, Henry James and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

How do literature, philosophy, film and other arts respond to the profound changes in world view and lifestyle that mark the twentieth century? This course considers a broad range of works from different countries, different media, and different genres, in exploring the transition to a decentered "Einsteinian" universe.

William Butler Yeats occupies a dominant position in the lives and work of the Irish poets who followed him. We will explore some of that poetry, and consider how later poets, especially female poets, tried to come to grips with, or escape from, that dominance. As a seminar, the subject will place special emphasis on student involvement and control. I will ask you to submit one ten-twelve page essay, two shorter (five page) essays, and to accept the role of "leadoff person," perhaps more than once, That role will demand that you choose from among the assigned readings for that session the poem we should focus upon, and to offer either a provocative articulation of what the poem is about, or a provocative question which the poem confronts, and which we should grapple with, as well.