Welcome to this information literacy course for Master’s and PhD students. You probably already have some knowledge of information literacy, but if some of it has slipped your mind or if terms sound unfamiliar, this course includes links to information from the instructions for Bachelor’s students.

Writing your Master’s thesis involves a number of different phases. You cannot simply start writing! You will first need extensive knowledge of the general field of research, in order to see where your subject fits in.

Subject covers technology concepts and trends underlying current and future developments in information technology, and fundamental principles for the effective use of computer-based information systems. Special emphasis on networks and distributed computing, including the web. Other topics include: hardware and operating systems, software development tools and processes, relational databases, security and cryptography, enterprise applications and business process redesign, and electronic commerce. Hands-on exposure to Web, database, and graphical user interface (GUI) tools. Primarily for Sloan master's students.

This innovative, trans-faculty subject teaches how information technologies (IT) are reshaping and redefining the health care marketplace through improved economies of scale, greater technical efficiencies in the delivery of care to patients, advanced tools for patient education and self-care, network integrated decision support tools for clinicians, and the emergence of e-commerce in health care. Student tutorials provide an opportunity for interactive discussion. Interdisciplinary project teams comprised of Harvard and MIT graduate students in medicine, business, law, education, engineering, computer science, public health, and government collaborate to design innovative IT applications. Projects are presented during the final class. ĺĘ Starting in Spring 2010, this course will be titled Enabling Technology Innovation in Healthcare and the Life Sciences.

6.441 offers an introduction to the quantitative theory of information and its applications to reliable, efficient communication systems. Topics include mathematical definition and properties of information, source coding theorem, lossless compression of data, optimal lossless coding, noisy communication channels, channel coding theorem, the source channel separation theorem, multiple access channels, broadcast channels, Gaussian noise, and time-varying channels.

This practicum subject integrates theory and practice through the design, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive community information infrastructure that promotes democratic involvement and informs community development projects. Students work with Lawrence Community Works, Inc. to involve constituents and generate solutions to an important planning problem in the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Final project presentations take place in a public forum, and serve to inform future development of the information infrastructure. Subject begins with an overview of the digital divide, e-government, public participation GIS, and neighborhood information systems. Subject includes a reflection component and a deliberate investigation of race, class, and gender dynamics.

This is a discussion-based, interactive seminar on the development of information and communication technology in Sub-Saharan Africa. The students will seek to understand the issues surrounding designing and instituting policy, and explore the possible ways in which they can make an impact on information and communication technology in Africa.

Unified theory of information with applications to computing, communications, thermodynamics, and other sciences. Digital signals and streams, codes, compression, noise, and probability. Reversible and irreversible operations. Information in biological systems. Channel capacity. Maximum-entropy formalism. Thermodynamic equilibrium, temperature. The Second Law of Thermodynamics. Quantum computation.

This seminar examines efforts in developing and advanced nations and regions to create, finance, and regulate infrastructure and energy technologies from a variety of methodological and disciplinary perspectives. It is conducted with intensive in-class discussions and debates.

This seminar has three purposes. One, it inquires into the causes of military innovation by examining a number of the most outstanding historical cases. Two, it views military innovations through the lens of organization theory to develop generalizations about the innovation process within militaries. Three, it uses the empirical study of military innovations as a way to examine the strength and credibility of hypotheses that organization theorists have generated about innovation in non-military organizations.

15.616 is an introduction to business law which covers the fundamentals, including contracts, liability, regulation, employment, and corporations, with an in-depth treatment of the legal issues relating to breakthrough technologies, including the legal framework of R&D, the commercialization of new high-technology products in start-ups and mature companies, and the liability and regulatory implications of new products and innovative business models. There is extensive attention to national and international intellectual property protection and strategies. Examples are drawn from many industries, including information technology, communications, and life sciences.

This subject explores the varied nature and practice of computation in design. We will view computation and design broadly. Computation will include both work done on the computer (digital computing) and by-hand. Design will include both the process of making designs and artifacts, as well as the designs and artifacts themselves. The aim of the course is to develop a view of computation and design beyond the specifics of techniques and tools, and a critical, self-awareness of our own approaches and metaphors for computation and design.

The course is a comprehensive introduction to the theory, algorithms and applications of integer optimization and is organized in four parts: formulations and relaxations, algebra and geometry of integer optimization, algorithms for integer optimization, and extensions of integer optimization.

Selection of material from the following topics: calculus of variations (the first variation and the second variation); integral equations (Volterra equations; Fredholm equations, the Hilbert-Schmidt theorem); the Hilbert Problem and singular integral equations of Cauchy type; Wiener-Hopf Method and partial differential equations; Wiener-Hopf Method and integral equations; group theory.

This course uses reaction kinetics, batch reactor analysis, batch distillation, batch operations scheduling, safety analysis, and the ABACUSS process simulator to introduce process design and analysis techniques.

Presents and solves chemical engineering problems in an industrial context, with applications varying by semester. Emphasis on the integration of fundamental concepts with approaches of process design. Emphasis on problems that demand synthesis, economic analysis, and process design .This course introduces students to methods and background needed for the conceptual design of continuously operating chemical plants. Particular attention is paid to the use of process modeling tools such as Aspen that are used in industry and to problems of current interest. Each student team is assigned to evaluate and design a different technology and prepare a final design report. For spring 2006, the theme of the course is to design technologies for lowering the emissions of climatically active gases from processes that use coal as the primary fuel.

This course provides a brief introduction to the field of biocatalysis in the context of process design. Fundamental topics include why and when one may choose to use biological systems for chemical conversion, considerations for using free enzymes versus whole cells, and issues related to design and development of bioconversion processes. Biological and engineering problems are discussed as well as how one may arrive at both biological and engineering solutions.

Chemical engineering problems presented and analyzed in an industrial context. Emphasis on the integration of fundamentals with material property estimation, process control, product development, and computer simulation. Integration of societal issues, such as engineering ethics, environmental and safety considerations, and impact of technology on society are addressed in the context of case studies.

Addresses some of the important issues involved with the planning, development, and implementation of lean enterprises. People, technology, process, and management dimensions of an effective lean manufacturing company are considered in a unified framework. Particular emphasis on the integration of these dimensions across the entire enterprise, including product development, production, and the extended supply chain. Analysis tools as well as future trends and directions are explored. A key component of this subject is a team project.

This course integrates studies of engineering sciences, reactor physics and safety assessment into nuclear power plant design. Topics include materials issues in plant design and operations, aspects of thermal design, fuel depletion and fission-product poisoning, and temperature effects on reactivity, safety considerations in regulations and operations, such as the evolution of the regulatory process, the concept of defense in depth, General Design Criteria, accident analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and risk-informed regulations.