Adaptation and ResilienceOpen learning
A Sustainable Transportation Plan for MIT
This seminar-style class will focus on evaluating and recommending alternative commuter and business-related transportation policies for the MIT campus. Emphasis will be placed on reducing transportation-related energy usage in a sustainable manner in response to President Hockfield’s “Walk the Talk” energy initiative. Students will explore the relative roles of MIT and the MBTA as transportation providers, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of related subsidy policies currently in place for all modes of transportation.
Dept 11.963+spring_2007
Science & MathOpen learning
Acoustical Oceanography
This course will begin with brief overview of what important current research topics are in oceanography (physical, geological, and biological) and how acoustics can be used as a tool to address them. Three typical examples are climate, bottom geology, and marine mammal behavior. Will then address the acoustic inverse problem, reviewing inverse methods (linear and nonlinear) and the combination of acoustical methods with other measurements as an integrated system. Last part of course will concentrate on specific case studies, taken from current research journals. This course is taught on campus at MIT and with simultaneous video at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Dept 22.682+spring_2012
Science & MathOpen learning
Advanced Thermodynamics
This course is a self-contained concise review of general thermodynamics concepts, multicomponent equilibrium properties, chemical equilibrium, electrochemical potentials, and chemical kinetics, as needed to introduce the methods of nonequilibrium thermodynamics and to provide a unified understanding of phase equilibria, transport, and nonequilibrium phenomena useful for future energy and climate engineering technologies. Applications include second-law efficiencies and methods to allocate primary energy consumptions and CO₂ emissions in cogeneration and hybrid power systems, minimum work of separation, maximum work of mixing, osmotic pressure and membrane equilibria, metastable states, spinodal decomposition, and Onsager’s near-equilibrium reciprocity in thermodiffusive, thermoelectric, and electrokinetic cross effects.
Dept 22.43+spring_2024
Energy, Climate & SustainabilityOpen learning
Anthro-Engineering: Decarbonization at the Million-Person Scale
This course examines and experiments with pathways to decarbonization at the million-person scale. Our field site is Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia—the coldest capital on Earth and one of the world’s most polluted cities, largely as a result of coal combustion. We will explore the design and implementation of a molten salt heat bank to be used as an alternative to coal for household heating. Our approach is holistic and interdisciplinary: to prototype a locally specific, culturally acceptable, and socio-economically viable reusable energy source, we combine anthropology and engineering to understand and address the complex social, environmental, material, economic, and political conditions that shape energy and sustainability dilemmas in Ulaanbaatar. In doing so, we will move back and forth between prototyping the heat bank and considering practical constraints specific to the place and people.
Dept 21A21A.S01+fall_2023
ArchitectureOpen learning
Architecture Studio: Building in Landscapes
This subject introduces skills needed to build within a landscape establishing continuities between the built and natural world. Students learn to build appropriately through analysis of landscape and climate for a chosen site, and to conceptualize design decisions through drawings and models. This class was taught concurrently with 4.125B. Some of the assignments are the same, some are different, and the sites for the final project are different. But since they were taught in tandem, it would be useful to look at both together.
Dept 44.125A+fall_2005
ArchitectureOpen learning
Architecture Studio: Building in Landscapes
4.125 is the third undergraduate design studio. This subject introduces skills needed to build within a landscape establishing continuities between the built and natural world. Students learn to build appropriately through analysis of landscape and climate for a chosen site, and to conceptualize design decisions through drawings and models.
Dept 44.125+fall_2002
Environmental DesignOpen learning
Architecture Studio: Building in Landscapes
This subject introduces skills needed to build within a landscape establishing continuities between the built and natural world. Students learn to build appropriately through analysis of landscape and climate for a chosen site, and to conceptualize design decisions through drawings and models. This class was taught concurrently with course 4.125A. Some of the assignments are the same, some are different, and the sites for the final project are different. But since they were taught in tandem, it would be useful to look at both together.
Dept 44.125B+fall_2005
Climate ScienceOpen learning
Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Dynamics
This undergraduate class is designed to introduce students to the physics that govern the circulation of the ocean and atmosphere. The focus of the course is on the processes that control the climate of the planet. Acknowledgments Prof. Ferrari wishes to acknowledge that this course was originally designed and taught by Prof. John Marshall.
Dept 1212.003+fall_2008
Earth ScienceOpen learning
Atmospheric and Ocean Circulations
In this course, we will look at many important aspects of the circulation of the atmosphere and ocean, from length scales of meters to thousands of km and time scales ranging from seconds to years. We will assume familiarity with concepts covered in course 12.003 (Physics of the Fluid Earth). In the early stages of the present course, we will make somewhat greater use of math than did 12.003, but the math we will use is no more than that encountered in elementary electromagnetic field theory, for example. The focus of the course is on the physics of the phenomena which we will discuss.
Dept 1212.333+spring_2004
Climate ScienceOpen learning
Atmospheric Chemistry
This course provides a detailed overview of the chemical transformations that control the abundances of key trace species in the Earth’s atmosphere. Emphasizes the effects of human activity on air quality and climate. Topics include photochemistry, kinetics, and thermodynamics important to the chemistry of the atmosphere; stratospheric ozone depletion; oxidation chemistry of the troposphere; photochemical smog; aerosol chemistry; and sources and sinks of greenhouse gases and other climate forcers.
Dept 10, 1, 121.84J+fall_2013
EnergyOpen learning
Brave New Planet
Utopia or dystopia? It’s up to us. In the 21st century, powerful technologies have been appearing at a breathtaking pace—related to the internet, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and more. They have amazing potential upsides, but we can’t ignore the serious risks that come with them. Brave New Planet is a podcast that delves deep into the most exciting and challenging scientific frontiers, helping us understand them and grapple with their implications. Dr. Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, is a geneticist, molecular biologist, and mathematician who was a leader of the Human Genome Project and for eight years served as a science advisor to the White House for President Obama. He’s also the host of Brave New Planet , and he’s talked to leading researchers, journalists, doctors, policy makers, activists, and legal experts to illuminate how this generation’s choices will shape the future as never before. Brave New Planet is a partnership between the Broad Institute, Pushkin Industries, and the Boston Globe.
Dept 7RES.7-003+fall_2020
ArchitectureOpen learning
Building Technology Laboratory
In this class, concepts of building technology and experimental methods are studied, in class and in lab assignments. Projects vary yearly and have included design and testing of strategies for daylighting, passive heating and cooling, and improved indoor air quality via natural ventilation. Experimental methods focus on measurement and analysis of thermally driven and wind-driven airflows, lighting intensity and glare, and heat flow and thermal storage. Experiments are conducted at model and full scale and are often motivated by ongoing field work in developing countries.
Dept 44.411+spring_2004
Gender StudiesOpen learning
Changing Life: Reading the Intersections of Gender, Race, Biology, and Literature
In this course, students will develop their abilities to expose ways that scientific knowledge has been shaped in contexts that are gendered, racialized, economically exploitative, and hetero-normative. This happens through a sequence of four projects that concern: Interpretation of the cultural dimension of sciences Climate change futures Genomic citizenry Students’ plans for ongoing practice The course uses a Project-Based Learning format that allows students to shape their own directions of inquiry in each project, development of skills, and collegial support. Students’ learning will be guided by individualized bibliographies co-constructed with the instructors, the inquiries of the other students, and a set of tools and processes for literary analysis, inquiry, reflection, and support. Acknowledgement Professor Peter Taylor spent several years crafting the unique structure of the course, which is crucial to the way it was taught. The Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality This course was taught as part of the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality (GCWS) at MIT. The GCWS brings together scholars and teachers at nine degree-granting institutions in the Boston area who are devoted to graduate teaching and research in Women’s Studies and to advance interdisciplinary Women’s Studies scholarship.
Dept WGSWGS.700+spring_2017
EngineeringOpen learning
Civil Society and the Environment
This graduate seminar examines civic engagement in international, national and local environmental governance. We will consider theories pertaining to civil society development, social movement mobilization, and the relations that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have with governments and corporations. During the course of the semester, particular attention will be given to the legitimacy and accountability of NGOs. Case studies of NGO and community responses to specific environmental issues will be used to illustrate theoretical issues and assess the impacts that these actors have on environmental policy and planning.
Dept 1111.363+spring_2005
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Climate Action Hands-On: Harnessing Science with Communities to Cut Carbon
This course explores how citizen science can support community actions to combat climate change. Participants will learn about framing problems, design ways to gather data, gather some of their own field data, and consider how the results can enable action. Leaks in the natural gas system—a major source of methane emissions, and a powerful contributor to climate change—will be a particular focus. The course was organized by ClimateX and Fossil Free MIT, with support from the National Science Foundation for the methane monitoring equipment. It was offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week January term at MIT.
Dept MITRES.ENV-001+january-iap_2017
Systems EngineeringOpen learning
Climate Change Seminar
This course provides a broad overview of issues related to climate change, with an emphasis on those aspects most relevant to computer scientists. Topics include climate science, climate models and simulations, decision-making under uncertainty, economics, mitigation strategies, adaptation strategies, geoengineering, policy-making, messaging, and politics.The course will culminate in a presentation of a research project which might include a paper, a blog, software etc.
Dept 12, 66.S898+fall_2019
EnergyOpen learning
Climate Justice Instructional Toolkit
The Climate Justice Instructional Toolkit was created by MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative as part of a larger initiative to expand climate justice education at MIT. The primary goal of these resources and programming is to provide support to faculty members and instructors across disciplines within introductory undergraduate courses to facilitate the integration of climate justice content and related instructional approaches into their courses.
Dept 11RES.11-003+spring_2025
Earth ScienceOpen learning
Climate Physics and Chemistry
This course introduces students to climate studies, including beginnings of the solar system, time scales, and climate in human history. It is offered to both undergraduate and graduate students with different requirements.
Dept 1212.842+fall_2008
Data Science, Analytics & Computer TechnologyOpen learning
Climate Science, Risk & Solutions: A Climate Primer
The goal of the Climate Primer website is to summarize the most important lines of evidence for human-caused climate change. It confronts the stickier questions about uncertainty in our projections, engages in a discussion of risk and risk managment, and concludes by presenting different options for taking action. We hope that the facts prepare you for more effective conversations with your community about values, trade-offs, politics, and actions. In March 2024, the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative launched the first major update to the Climate Primer. The updated Primer includes more precise estimates of future global warming and its effects on global temperatures and extreme weather events, important advances in climate modeling, new actions taken around the world to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and the latest data about the pace at which clean energy and other critical climate solutions are being deployed. Read more about the update on the MIT Environmental Solutions website.
Dept MITRES.ENV-005
EnergyOpen learning
Climate, Environment, and Sustainability Infusion Fellowship (CESIF)
The MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative’s Climate, Environment, and Sustainability Infusion Fellowship (CESIF) launched in February 2023 to empower faculty across MIT to cross their disciplinary boundaries and embed topics of climate science, the environment, and sustainability (CES) into the regular undergraduate curriculum. By infusing CES topics into regular undergraduate subjects, MIT students were introduced to the critical challenges facing society today and the pathways toward planetary sustainability tomorrow. The fellowship had a duration of two years, continuing until the spring of 2025. It provided faculty with funding and opportunities to build community in a cohort of faculty and instructors across disciplines, to engage in monthly meetings to learn about innovative CES content knowledge and pedagogical methodologies, to work with CES area experts and speakers, to workshop new instructional material, to get feedback from peers and ESI staff and visiting experts, to work closely with peer fellows for additional accountability and feedback, and to have access to a shared online platform for instructional support.
Dept MITRES.ENV-008+spring_2025
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Comparative Security and Sustainability
This course focuses on the complexities associated with security and sustainability of states in international relations. Covering aspects of theory, methods and empirical analysis, the course is in three parts, and each consists of seminar sessions focusing on specific topics.
Dept 1717.559+fall_2004
Climate and Energy PolicyOpen learning
CS3 Lecture Series: Fundamentals of Climate Science and Policy
IAP 2026 provides members of the MIT community with a unique opportunity to participate in a wide variety of activities, including this lecture series on climate change produced by MIT’s Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy (CS3). Please join CS3 during IAP 2026 to learn more about the science of climate change and policies aimed at stabilizing the global climate.
Dept MITRES.ENV-009+january-iap_2026
Adaptation and ResilienceOpen learning
D-Lab I: Development
D-Lab Development addresses issues of technological improvements at the micro level for developing countries—in particular, how the quality of life of low-income households can be improved by adaptation of low cost and sustainable technologies. Discussion of development issues as well as project implementation challenges are addressed through lectures, case studies, guest speakers and laboratory exercises. Students form project teams to partner with mostly local level organizations in developing countries, and formulate plans for an IAP site visit. (Previous field sites include Ghana, Brazil, Honduras and India.) Project team meetings focus on developing specific projects and include cultural, social, political, environmental and economic overviews of the countries and localities to be visited as well as an introduction to the local languages.
Dept EC, 11EC.701J+fall_2009
EconomicsOpen learning
D-Lab II: Design
D-Lab: Design addresses problems faced by undeserved communities with a focus on design, experimentation, and prototyping processes. Particular attention is placed on constraints faced when designing for developing countries. Multidisciplinary teams work on semester-long projects in collaboration with community partners, field practitioners, and experts in relevant fields. Topics covered include design for affordability, design for manufacture, sustainability, and strategies for working effectively with community partners and customers. Students may continue projects begun in EC.701J D-Lab I: Development .
Dept EC, 2EC.720J+spring_2010
EnergyOpen learning
D-Lab Student Showcases
Student projects in D-Lab classes are defined by community partners and social ventures around the world. We don’t always know what is needed, but our community partners do, and our students have technical knowledge and skills to contribute to that work. Each semester, through a selection of full-semester classes, our students form into teams to work on projects framed by community partners – NGOs, local nonprofits, and social entrepreneurs. At the end of each semester, students present their work to their peers, partners, and guests.
Dept ECRES.EC-003+spring_2022
Electrical EngineeringOpen learning
D-Lab: Energy
D-Lab: Energy offers a hands-on, project-based approach that engages students in understanding and addressing the applications of small-scale, sustainable energy technology in developing countries where compact, robust, low-cost systems for generating power are required. Projects may include micro-hydro, solar, or wind turbine generators along with theoretical analysis, design, prototype construction, evaluation and implementation. Students will have the opportunity both to travel to Nicaragua during spring break to identify and implement projects. D-Lab: Energy is part of MIT’s D-Lab program, which fosters the development of appropriate technologies and sustainable solutions within the framework of international development. This course is an elective subject in MIT’s undergraduate Energy Studies Minor. This Institute-wide program complements the deep expertise obtained in any major with a broad understanding of the interlinked realms of science, technology, and social sciences as they relate to energy and associated environmental challenges.
Dept ECEC.711+spring_2011
Climate ScienceOpen learning
D-Lab: Waste
This introductory course will provide you with a multidisciplinary approach to managing waste in low- and middle-income countries, with strategies that diminish greenhouse gas emissions and provide enterprise opportunities for marginalized populations. You will focus on understanding some of the multiple dimensions of waste generation and management. Topics are presented in real contexts through case studies, field visits, civic engagement and research, and include consumer culture, waste streams, waste management, entrepreneurship and innovation on waste, technology evaluation, downcycling / upcycling, Life Cycle Analysis and waste assessment. Labs include building low-cost, small scale technology, field trips to waste-related institutions and businesses, art workshops and e-waste scrapping taught by practitioners, artists and waste enthusiasts.
Dept ECEC.716+fall_2015
Public HealthOpen learning
D-Lab: Water, Climate Change, and Health
D-Lab: Water, Climate Change, and Health is a project-based, experiential, and transdisciplinary course. Together with peers and experts, we will explore the vitally important interface of water, climate change, and health. This course addresses mitigation and adaptation to climate change as it pertains to water and health. Water-borne illness, malnutrition, and vector-borne diseases represent the top three causes of morbidity and mortality in regions of our focus. Students submit a term project, setting the stage for a lifelong commitment to communicating climate science to a broad public.
Dept ECEC.719+spring_2019
Social SciencesOpen learning
D-Lab: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
This course focuses on disseminating Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) or water/environment innovations in developing countries and underserved communities worldwide. It emphasizes core WASH and water/environment principles, culture-specific solutions, tools for start-ups, appropriate and sustainable technologies, behavior change, social marketing, building partnerships, and the theory and practice of innovation diffusion.
Dept EC, 11EC.715+fall_2019
Game DesignOpen learning
Data Storytelling Studio: Climate Change
This course explores visualization methodologies to conceive and represent systems and data, e.g., financial, media, economic, political, etc., with a particular focus on climate change data in this version of the course. Topics include basic methods for research, cleaning, and analysis of datasets, and creative methods of data presentation and storytelling. The course considers the emotional, aesthetic, ethical, and practical effects of different presentation methods as well as how to develop metrics for assessing impact. Coursework includes readings, visualization exercises, and a final project.
Dept CMS-W, MASCMS.631+spring_2017
Energy, Climate & SustainabilityOpen learning
Daylighting
This course explores natural and electric lighting that integrates occupant comfort, energy efficiency and daylight availability in an architectural context. Students are asked to evaluate daylighting in real space and simulations, and also high dynamic range photography and physical model building.
Dept 44.430+spring_2012
EngineeringOpen learning
Desalination and Water Purification
Water supply is a problem of worldwide concern: more than 1 billion people do not have reliable access to clean drinking water. Water is a particular problem for the developing world, but scarcity also impacts industrial societies. Water purification and desalination technology can be used to convert brackish ground water or seawater into drinking water. The challenge is to do so sustainably, with minimum cost and energy consumption, and with appropriately accessible technologies. This subject will survey the state-of-the-art in water purification by desalination and filtration. Fundamental thermodynamic and transport processes which govern the creation of fresh water from seawater and brackish ground water will be developed. The technologies of existing desalination systems will be discussed, and factors which limit the performance or the affordability of these systems will be highlighted. Energy efficiency will be a focus. Nanofiltration and emerging technologies for desalination will be considered. A student project in desalination will involve designing a well-water purification system for a village in Haiti.
Dept 22.500+spring_2009
Adaptation and ResilienceOpen learning
Design for Sustainability
The course considers the growing popularity of sustainability and its implications for the practice of engineering, particularly for the built environment. Two particular methodologies are featured: life cycle assessment (LCA) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The fundamentals of each approach will be presented. Specific topics covered include water and wastewater management, energy use, material selection, and construction.
Dept 11.964+fall_2006
Biomedical TechnologiesOpen learning
Designing and Sustaining Technology Innovation for Global Health Practice
Innovation in global health practice requires leaders who are trained to think and act like entrepreneurs. Whether at a hospital bedside or in a remote village, global healthcare leaders must understand both the business of running a social venture as well as how to plan for and provide access to life saving medicines and essential health services. Each week, the course features a lecture and skills-based tutorial session led by industry, non-profit foundation, technology, and academic leaders to think outside the box in tackling and solving problems in innovation for global health practice through the rationale design of technology and service solutions. The lectures provide the foundation for faculty-mentored pilot project from MOH, students, or non-profit sponsors that may involve creation of a market or business plan, product development, or a research study design.
Dept HSTHST.939+spring_2008
EngineeringOpen learning
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Geiger Counters
This experimental one-week course is a freshman-accessible hands-on introduction to Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. Students build and test their own Geiger Counter, and so doing, they explore different types and sources of radiation, how to detect them, how to shield them, how to accurately count / measure their activity, and explore cryptographical applications of radiation. This course is meant to be enjoyable and rigorous at the same time. This course was offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs during January each year. WARNING NOTICE: An activity described in this course is potentially hazardous and requires a high level of safety training, special facilities and equipment, and supervision by appropriate individuals. You bear the sole responsibility, liability, and risk for the implementation of such safety procedures and measures. MIT shall have no responsibility, liability, or risk for the content or implementation of any of the material presented. Legal Notice
Dept 2222.S902+january-iap_2015
Ocean EngineeringOpen learning
Dynamics of the Atmosphere
This course begins with a study of the role of dynamics in the general physics of the atmosphere, the consideration of the differences between modeling and approximation, and the observed large-scale phenomenology of the atmosphere. Only then are the basic equations derived in rigorous manner. The equations are then applied to important problems and methodologies in meteorology and climate, with discussions of the history of the topics where appropriate. Problems include the Hadley circulation and its role in the general circulation, atmospheric waves including gravity and Rossby waves and their interaction with the mean flow, with specific applications to the stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation, tides, the super-rotation of Venus’ atmosphere, the generation of atmospheric turbulence, and stationary waves among other problems. The quasi-geostrophic approximation is derived, and the resulting equations are used to examine the hydrodynamic stability of the circulation with applications ranging from convective adjustment to climate.
Dept 1212.810+spring_2008
Earth ScienceOpen learning
EarthDNA's Climate 101
The Climate 101 presentation was developed by Brandon Leshchinskiy in collaboration with Professor Dava Newman, MIT Portugal, and EarthDNA in an effort to mobilize young people as educators on the issue of climate change. The presentation addresses not only the science but also the economics and civics of climate change, incorporating a negotiation activity that brings key concepts to life. This resource includes the slides and instructions for the presentation, along with an introductory video from Prof. Newman, a video of Leshchinskiy actually delivering the presentation to a classroom full of students, and extensive supporting materials that will help users to become climate ambassadors and deliver the Climate 101 presentation themselves.
Dept MITRES.ENV-003+fall_2019
Urban StudiesOpen learning
Ecological Urbanism
Ecological urbanism weds the theory and practice of city design and planning, as a means of adaptation, with the insights of ecology (the study of the relationships among living organisms and their environment and the processes that shape both) and other environmental disciplines. Ecological urbanism is critical to the future of the city and its design: it provides a framework for addressing challenges that threaten humanity, such as climate change, rising sea level, declining oil reserves, rising energy demands, and environmental and social injustice, while fulfilling human needs for health, safety, welfare, meaning, and delight.
Dept 4, 1111.308J+spring_2024
Earth ScienceOpen learning
Ecology II: Engineering for Sustainability
This course provides a review of physical, chemical, ecological, and economic principles used to examine interactions between humans and the natural environment. Mass balance concepts are applied to ecology, chemical kinetics, hydrology, and transportation; energy balance concepts are applied to building design, ecology, and climate change; and economic and life cycle concepts are applied to resource evaluation and engineering design. Numerical models are used to integrate concepts and to assess environmental impacts of human activities. Problem sets involve development of MATLAB® models for particular engineering applications. Some experience with computer programming is helpful but not essential.
Dept 11.020+spring_2008
EngineeringOpen learning
Electric Machines
This course teaches the principles and analysis of electromechanical systems. Students will develop analytical techniques for predicting device and system interaction characteristics as well as learn to design major classes of electric machines. Problems used in the course are intended to strengthen understanding of the phenomena and interactions in electromechanics, and include examples from current research.
Dept 66.685+fall_2013
PhysicsOpen learning
Electrochemical Processing of Materials
This course covers a variety of topics concerning superconducting magnets, including thermodynamic and transport properties of aqueous and nonaqueous electrolytes, the electrode/electrolyte interface, and the kinetics of electrode processes. It also covers electrochemical characterization with regards to d.c. techniques (controlled potential, controlled current) and a.c. techniques (voltametry and impedance spectroscopy). Applications of the following will also be discussed: electrowinning, electrorefining, electroplating, and electrosynthesis, as well as electrochemical power sources (batteries and fuel cells).
Dept 33.53+spring_2001
EngineeringOpen learning
Electromagnetic Energy: From Motors to Lasers
This course discusses applications of electromagnetic and equivalent quantum mechanical principles to classical and modern devices. It covers energy conversion and power flow in both macroscopic and quantum-scale electrical and electromechanical systems, including electric motors and generators, electric circuit elements, quantum tunneling structures and instruments. It studies photons as waves and particles and their interaction with matter in optoelectronic devices, including solar cells, displays, and lasers. The instructors would like to thank Scott Bradley, David Friend, Ta-Ming Shih, and Yasuhiro Shirasaki for helping to develop the course, and Kyle Hounsell, Ethan Koether, and Dmitri Megretski for their work preparing the lecture notes for OCW publication.
Dept 66.007+spring_2011
EnergyOpen learning
Energy and Environment in American History: 1705-2005
A survey of how America has become the world’s largest consumer of energy. Explores American history from the perspective of energy and its relationship to politics, diplomacy, the economy, science and technology, labor, culture, and the environment. Topics include muscle and water power in early America, coal and the Industrial Revolution, electrification, energy consumption in the home, oil and U.S. foreign policy, automobiles and suburbanization, nuclear power, OPEC and the 70’s energy crisis, global warming, and possible paths for the future.
Dept STSSTS.038+fall_2006
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Energy Decisions, Markets, and Policies
This course examines the choices and constraints regarding sources and uses of energy by households, firms, and governments through a number of frameworks to describe and explain behavior at various levels of aggregation. Examples include a wide range of countries, scope, settings, and analytical approaches. This course is one of many OCW Energy Courses, and it is a core subject in MIT’s undergraduate Energy Studies Minor. This Institute-wide program complements the deep expertise obtained in any major with a broad understanding of the interlinked realms of science, technology, and social sciences as they relate to energy and associated environmental challenges.
Dept 21A, 14, 15, 1115.031J+spring_2012
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Energy Economics
This course explores the theoretical and empirical perspectives on individual and industrial demand for energy, energy supply, energy markets, and public policies affecting energy markets. It discusses aspects of the oil, natural gas, electricity, and nuclear power sectors and examines energy tax, price regulation, deregulation, energy efficiency and policies for controlling emission.
Dept 1414.44+spring_2007
EnergyOpen learning
Energy Needs Assessment Toolkit
Understanding the energy needs and market opportunities in the specific off-grid community or region is the first step for effectively selecting and implementing the solutions to meet a community’s energy needs. MIT D-Lab has developed the Energy Assessment Toolkit to guide organizations through the process of gathering the information needed to make informed decisions about what technologies and business models are best suited to meet the specific needs of their community through market-based initiatives. This toolkit is designed for any organization that has an on-the-ground presence in an off-grid community or region and has the ability to take action based on the opportunities identified. This community-based assessment approach is not intended to replace studies that track energy access on a national level or to generate market intelligence reports for external organizations looking to expand their business or programs into new markets.
Dept ECRES.EC-004+spring_2017
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Energy, Environment, and Society: Global Politics, Technologies, and Ecologies of the Water-Energy-Food Crises
With increasing public awareness of the multiple effects of global environmental change, the terms water, energy, and food crisis have become widely used in scientific and political debates on sustainable development and environmental policy. Although each of these crises has distinct drivers and consequences, providing sustainable supplies of water, energy, and food are deeply interrelated challenges and require a profound understanding of the political, socioeconomic, and cultural factors that have historically shaped these interrelations at a local and global scale.
Dept STSSTS.032+spring_2018
EngineeringOpen learning
Engineering, Economics and Regulation of the Electric Power Sector
The course presents an in-depth interdisciplinary perspective of electric power systems, with regulation providing the link among the engineering, economic, legal and environmental viewpoints. Generation dispatch, demand response, optimal network flows, risk allocation, reliability of service, renewable energy sources, ancillary services, tariff design, distributed generation, rural electrification, environmental impacts and strategic sustainability issues will be among the topics addressed under both traditional and competitive regulatory frameworks.
Dept 6, ESD, IDS, 15IDS.505J+spring_2010
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Environment and Society
Modern industrial activities - which MIT engineers and scientists play a major role in - have significant environmental and social impacts. Trends towards further industrialization and globalization portend major challenges for society to manage the adverse impacts of our urban and industrial activities. How serious are current environmental and social problems? Why should we care about them? How are governments, corporations, activists, and ordinary citizens responding to these problems. This course examines environmental and social impacts of industrial society and policy responses. We will explore current trends in industrialization, urbanization, and globalization, analyze the impacts these trends have on human health, environmental sustainability, and equity, and then examine a range of policy options available for responding to current problems. The course will present key trends in both domestic and international contexts. We will examine four policy problems in particular during the course: (1) regulating industrial pollution; (2) regulating “sweatshops” and the broader impacts of globalization; (3) protecting ecosystems; and (4) protecting urban environments during development. We delve into specific cases of these challenges, including: chemical safety and toxins; computers, e-commerce, and the environment; biotech and society; sweatshops; and food production and consumption. Through these cases, we will explore underlying processes and drivers of environmental degradation. Finally, we will analyze opportunities and barriers to policy responses taken by governments, international institutions, corporations, non-governmental organizations, consumers, and impacted communities. Objectives and Aims An understanding of the complexity of environmental and social impacts of industry; An ability to critically analyze policy responses; An understanding of the roles of different actors and institutions in environmental and social controversies; Means to evaluate institutional barriers to environmental and social policies; New ideas for better integrating industry, environment, and equity; New strategies for regulation in the global economy; An understanding about personal responsibilities and roles in environmental and social problems.
Dept 1111.122+fall_2002
Climate and Energy PolicyOpen learning
Environmental Justice
This class explores the foundations of the environmental justice movement, current and emerging issues, and the application of environmental justice analysis to environmental policy and planning. It examines claims made by diverse groups along with the policy and civil society responses that address perceived inequity and injustice. While focused mainly on the United States, international issues and perspectives are also considered.
Dept 1111.368+fall_2004
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Environmental Justice Law and Policy
This seminar introduces students to basic principles of environmental justice and presents frameworks for analyzing and addressing inequalities in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens from the perspectives of social science, public policy, and law.
Dept 1111.368+fall_2019
Social SciencesOpen learning
Environmental Policy and Economics
This course explores the proper role of government in the regulation of the environment. It will help students develop the tools to estimate the costs and benefits of environmental regulations. These tools will be used to evaluate a series of current policy questions, including: Should air and water pollution regulations be tightened or loosened? What are the costs of climate change in the U.S. and abroad? Is there a “Race to the Bottom” in environmental regulation? What is “sustainable development”? How do environmental problems differ in developing countries? Are we running out of oil and other natural resources? Should we be more energy efficient? To gain real world experience, the course is scheduled to include a visit to the MIT cogeneration plant. We will also do an in-class simulation of an air pollution emissions market.
Dept 1414.42+spring_2011
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Environmental Struggles
This class explores the interrelationship between humans and natural environments. It does so by focusing on conflict over access to and use of the environment as well as ideas about “nature” in various parts of the world.
Dept 21A21A.342+fall_2004
ArchitectureOpen learning
Environmental Technologies in Buildings
This course focuses on the thermal, luminous, and acoustic behavior of buildings, examining the basic scientific principles underlying these phenomena and introducing students to technologies and analysis techniques for designing comfortable indoor environments. Students are challenged to apply these techniques and explore the role light, energy, and sound can play in shaping architecture.
Dept 44.401+fall_2018
ChemistryOpen learning
Experimental Atmospheric Chemistry
This course provides an introduction to the atmospheric chemistry involved in climate change, air pollution and biogeochemical cycles using a combination of hands-on laboratory, field studies, and simple computer models. Lectures will be accompanied by field trips to collect air samples for the analysis of gases, aerosols and clouds by the students.
Dept 1212.335+fall_2014
Climate ScienceOpen learning
Food in American History
This course will explore food in modern American history as a story of industrialization and globalization. Lectures, readings, and discussions will emphasize the historical dimensions of—and debates about—slave plantations and factory farm labor; industrial processing and technologies of food preservation; the political economy and ecology of global commodity chains; the vagaries of nutritional science; food restrictions and reform movements; food surpluses and famines; cooking traditions and innovations; the emergence of restaurants, supermarkets, fast food, and slow food. The core concern of the course will be to understand the increasingly pervasive influence of the American model of food production and consumption patterns.
Dept 21H21H.S01+fall_2014
Urban StudiesOpen learning
Foshan China Workshop
This practicum focuses on applying the principles of sustainability to improve the quality of life and activity along the Foshan downtown riverfront. The City has recently engaged in several planning efforts that, with the help of consultants and experts, will help to identify strategies to revitalize the City’s center and establish a new downtown. This practicum will compliment these efforts by focusing on planning and design options in and around the Pearl River, a now underutilized waterway that runs through the City’s new downtown.
Dept 1111.952+spring_2004
Business & ManagementOpen learning
Frameworks and Models in Engineering Systems / Engineering System Design
This class provides an introduction to quantitative models and qualitative frameworks for studying complex engineering systems. Also taught is the art of abstracting a complex system into a model for purposes of analysis and design while dealing with complexity, emergent behavior, stochasticity, non-linearities and the requirements of many stakeholders with divergent objectives. The successful completion of the class requires a semester-long class project that deals with critical contemporary issues which require an integrative, interdisciplinary approach using the above models and frameworks.
Dept 1, ESDESD.04J+spring_2007
EngineeringOpen learning
Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion
This course covers fundamentals of thermodynamics, chemistry, and transport applied to energy systems. Topics include analysis of energy conversion and storage in thermal, mechanical, chemical, and electrochemical processes in power and transportation systems, with emphasis on efficiency, performance, and environmental impact. Applications include fuel reforming and alternative fuels, hydrogen, fuel cells and batteries, combustion, catalysis, combined and hybrid power cycles using fossil, nuclear and renewable resources.
Dept 10, 2, 222.60J+spring_2020
PhysicsOpen learning
Fundamentals of Photovoltaics
Fundamentals of photoelectric conversion: charge excitation, conduction, separation, and collection. Lectures cover commercial and emerging photovoltaic technologies and cross-cutting themes, including conversion efficiencies, loss mechanisms, characterization, manufacturing, systems, reliability, life-cycle analysis, risk analysis, and technology evolution in the context of markets, policies, society, and environment. This course is one of many OCW Energy Courses, and it is an elective subject in MIT’s undergraduate Energy Studies Minor. This Institute–wide program complements the deep expertise obtained in any major with a broad understanding of the interlinked realms of science, technology, and social sciences as they relate to energy and associated environmental challenges.
Dept 22.627+fall_2013
Earth ScienceOpen learning
Geodynamics Seminar
In this year’s Geodynamics Seminar, we will explore the depth and breadth of scientific research related to Earth’s present and past ice-sheets, glaciers and sea-ice, as well as extraterrestrial planetary ice. Invited speakers have been chosen from experts in the current frontiers in ice-related research, including planetary ice, climate records from polar and tropical ice cores, the Snowball Earth, subglacial volcanoes, ice rheology, ice sheet modeling, ice microkinetics, glacial erosion and tectonics, subglacial life and polar remote sensing. A field trip to Iceland in Summer 2006 will allow us to view some of the island’s ice caps and glacial geology, the exposed mid Atlantic Ridge and evidence of ice-volcano interactions.
Dept 1212.753+spring_2006
Environmental EngineeringOpen learning
Geothermal Energy Networks: Transforming Our Thermal Energy System
This two-day course, a collaboration between the HEET (Home Energy Efficiency Team) and MIT, focused on “Geothermal Energy Networks: Transforming Our Thermal Energy System” during the Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January 2025.
Dept MITRES.ENV-007+january-iap_2025
Data Science, Analytics & Computer TechnologyOpen learning
Girls Who Build Cameras
The Girls Who Build Cameras workshop for high school girls is a one-day, hands-on introduction to camera physics and technology (i.e. how Instagram works!) at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Beaverworks Center. The workshop includes tearing down old dSLR cameras, building a Raspberry Pi camera, and designing Instagram filters and Photoshop tools. Participants also get to listen to keynote speakers from the camera technology industry, including Kris Clark who engineers space cameras for NASA and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and Uyanga Tsedev who creates imaging probes to help surgeons find tumors at MIT. During lunch, representatives from the Society of Women Engineers and the Women’s Technology Program at MIT will present future opportunities to get involved in engineering in high school and college.
Dept 2RES.2-006+summer_2016
Social SciencesOpen learning
Global Cityscope - Disaster Planning and Post-Disaster Rebuilding and Recovery
This class is designed to expose you to the cycles of disasters, the roots of emergency planning in the U.S., how to understand and map vulnerabilities, and expose you to the disaster planning in different contexts, including in developing countries.
Dept 1111.027+spring_2017
EnergyOpen learning
Global Climate Change: Economics, Science, and Policy
This class introduces scientific, economic, and ecological issues underlying the threat of global climate change, and the institutions engaged in negotiating an international response. It also develops an integrated approach to analysis of climate change processes, and assessment of proposed policy measures, drawing on research and model development within the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.
Dept 12, ESD, 1515.023J+spring_2008
Startups/New EnterprisesOpen learning
Global Entrepreneurship Lab: Asia-Pacific
15.389A Global Entrepreneurship Lab: Asia-Pacific enables teams of students to work with the top management of global start-ups and gain experience in running, and consulting to, a new enterprise outside the United States. The focus is on start-ups operating in emerging markets throughout the world, with a special focus on the Asia-Pacific region. The course combines an internship in a growing firm with in-class discussions of the issues and policies that affect the climate for innovation and start-up success around the world. Special Features 15.389A is part of a two-section course and includes materials that cover entrepreneurship in the Asia-Pacific region. 15.389B Global Entrepreneurship Lab: Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa is also available on OpenCourseWare and covers topics pertinent to these additional regions.
Dept 1515.389A+fall_2010
Startups/New EnterprisesOpen learning
Global Entrepreneurship Lab: Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa
15.389B Global Entrepreneurship Lab: Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa enables teams of students to work with the top management of global start-ups and gain experience in running, and consulting to, a new enterprise outside the United States. The focus is on start-ups operating in emerging markets throughout the world, with a special focus on Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. The course combines an internship in a growing firm with in-class discussions of the issues and policies that affect the climate for innovation and start-up success around the world. Special Features 15.389B is part of a two-section course and includes materials that cover entrepreneurship in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. 15.389A Global Entrepreneurship Lab: Asia-Pacific is also available on OpenCourseWare and covers topics pertinent to these additional regions.
Dept 1515.389B+fall_2010
EngineeringOpen learning
Global Freshwater Crisis
For the first time in history, the global demand for freshwater is overtaking its supply in many parts of the world. The U.N. predicts that by 2025, more than half of the countries in the world will be experiencing water stress or outright shortages. Lack of water can cause disease, food shortages, starvation, migrations, political conflict, and even lead to war. Models of cooperation, both historic and contemporary, show the way forward. The first half of the course details the multiple facets of the water crisis. Topics include water systems, water transfers, dams, pollution, climate change, scarcity, water conflict/cooperation, food security, and agriculture. The second half of the course describes innovative solutions: Adaptive technologies and adaptation through policy, planning, management, economic tools, and finally, human behaviors required to preserve this precious and imperiled resource. Several field trips to water/wastewater/biosolids reuse and water-energy sites will help us to better comprehend both local and international challenges and solutions.
Dept 1111.S196+spring_2011
Climate ScienceOpen learning
Global Warming Science
This course provides students with a scientific foundation of anthropogenic climate change and an introduction to climate models. It focuses on fundamental physical processes that shape climate (e.g. solar variability, orbital mechanics, greenhouse gases, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and volcanic and soil aerosols) and on evidence for past and present climate change. During the course they discuss material consequences of climate change, including sea level change, variations in precipitation, vegetation, storminess, and the incidence of disease. This course also examines the science behind mitigation and adaptation proposals.
Dept 1212.340+spring_2012
Climate ScienceOpen learning
Global Warming Science
This course introduces the basic science underpinning our knowledge of the climate system, how climate has changed in the past, and how it may change in the future. The course focuses on the fundamental energy balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing infrared radiation in the climate system, and how this balance is affected by greenhouse gases. We will also discuss physical processes that shape the climate, such as atmospheric and oceanic convection and large-scale circulation, solar variability, orbital mechanics, and aerosols, as well as the evidence for past and present climate change. We will discuss climate models of varying degrees of complexity, and you will be able to run a model of a single column of the Earth’s atmosphere to simulate many of the important elements of climate change. This course is part of the Open Learning Library, which is free to use. You have the option to sign up and enroll in the course if you want to track your progress, or you can view and use all the materials without enrolling.
Dept 1212.340x+spring_2020
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Green Supply Chain Management
The half-semester graduate course in Green Supply Chain Management will focus on the fundamental strategies, tools and techniques required to analyze and design environmentally sustainable supply chain systems. Topics covered include: Closed-loop supply chains, reverse logistics systems, carbon footprinting, life-cycle analysis and supply chain sustainability strategy. Class sessions will combine presentations, case discussions and guest speakers. All students will work on a course-long team project that critically evaluates the environmental supply chain strategy of an industry or a publicly traded company. Grades will be based on class participation, case study assignments and the team project.
Dept ESDESD.S43+spring_2014
Social SciencesOpen learning
Healthy Cities: Assessing Health Impacts of Policies and Plans
This class examines the built, psychosocial, economic, and natural environment factors that affect health behaviors and outcomes. Students will be introduced to tools designed to integrate public health considerations into policy making and planning, and will be given hands-on training on the application of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) methodology. This class is designed to prepare graduate students from planning and policy fields to interface with public health organizations, agencies, or advocacy groups in professional contexts.
Dept 1111.S941+spring_2016
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Infrastructure and Energy Technology Challenges
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.
Dept 1111.165+fall_2011
PhysicsOpen learning
Integration of Reactor Design, Operations, and Safety
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.
Dept 2222.39+fall_2006
PhysicsOpen learning
Internal Combustion Engines
This course studies the fundamentals of how the design and operation of internal combustion engines affect their performance, efficiency, fuel requirements, and environmental impact. Topics include fluid flow, thermodynamics, combustion, heat transfer and friction phenomena, and fuel properties, with reference to engine power, efficiency, and emissions. Students examine the design features and operating characteristics of different types of internal combustion engines: spark-ignition, diesel, stratified-charge, and mixed-cycle engines. The class includes lab project in the Engine Laboratory.
Dept 22.61+spring_2017
Political ScienceOpen learning
International Environmental Negotiation
This seminar will explore the difficulties of getting agreement on global definitions of sustainability; in particularly building international support for efforts to combat climate change created by greenhouse gas emissions as well as other international resource management efforts. We will focus on possible changes in the way global environmental agreements are formulated and implemented, especially on ways of shifting from the current “pollution control” approach to combating climate change to a more comprehensive strategy for taking advantage of sustainable development opportunities.
Dept 1111.364+fall_2010
Environmental EngineeringOpen learning
International Politics and Climate Change
This course examines the interconnections of international politics and climate change. Beginning with an analysis of the strategic and environmental legacies of the 20th Century, it explores the politicization of the natural environment, the role of science in this process, and the gradual shifts in political concerns to incorporate “nature”. Two general thrusts of climate-politics connections are pursued, namely those related to (a) conflict – focusing on threats to security due to environmental dislocations and (b) cooperation – focusing on the politics of international treaties that have contributed to emergent processes for global accord in response to evidence of climate change. The course concludes by addressing the question of: “What Next?”
Dept 1717.441+fall_2007
Data Science, Analytics & Computer TechnologyOpen learning
Introduction to Building Technology
The course aims at providing a fundamental understanding of the physics related to buildings and to propose an overview of the various issues that have to be adequately combined to offer the occupants a physical, functional and psychological well-being. Students will be guided through the different components, constraints and systems of a work of architecture. These will be examined both independently and in the manner in which they interact and affect one another.
Dept 44.401+spring_2006
MathematicsOpen learning
Introduction to Computational Thinking
This class uses revolutionary programmable interactivity to combine material from three fields – Computer Science + Mathematics + Applications – creating an engaging, efficient learning solution to prepare students to be sophisticated and intuitive thinkers, programmers, and solution providers for the modern interconnected online world. Upon completion, students are well trained to be scientific “trilinguals,” seeing and experimenting with mathematics interactively as math is meant to be seen, and ready to participate and contribute to open source development of large projects and ecosystems.
Dept 16, 1, 12, 6, 18, 2218.S191+fall_2022
MathematicsOpen learning
Introduction to Computational Thinking
This is an introductory course on computational thinking. We use the Julia programming language to approach real-world problems in varied areas, applying data analysis and computational and mathematical modeling. In this class you will learn computer science, software, algorithms, applications, and mathematics as an integrated whole. Topics include image analysis, particle dynamics and ray tracing, epidemic propagation, and climate modeling.
Dept 6, 18, 2218.S191+fall_2020
HumanitiesOpen learning
Introduction to Environmental History
Focusing primarily on the period since 1500, explores the influence of climate, topography, plants, animals, and microorganisms on human history and the reciprocal influence of people on the environment. Topics include the European encounter with the Americas, the impact of modern technology, and the historical roots of the current environmental crisis.
Dept 21H21H.421+spring_2011
Climate and Energy PolicyOpen learning
Introduction to Environmental Policy and Planning
This course focuses on national environmental and energy policy-making; environmental ethics; the techniques of environmental analysis; and strategies for collaborative environmental decision-making. The primary objective of the course is to help students formulate a personal theory of environmental planning practice. The course is taught comparatively, with constant references to examples from around the world. It is required of all graduate students pursuing an environmental policy and planning specialization in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. This course is the first subject in the Environmental Policy and Planning sequence. It reviews philosophical debates including growth vs. deep ecology, “command-and-control” vs. market-oriented approaches to regulation, and the importance of expertise vs. indigenous knowledge. Emphasis is placed on environmental planning techniques and strategies. Related topics include the management of sustainability, the politics of ecosystem management, environmental governance and the changing role of civil society, ecological economics, integrated assessment (combining environmental impact assessment (EIA) and risk assessment), joint fact finding in science-intensive policy disputes, environmental justice in poor communities of color, and environmental dispute resolution. Environmental Problem-Solving (Susskind et al., 2017, Anthem Press), a video-enhanced eBook, provides students with full access to all the assigned readings, faculty commentary on the readings, and examples of the best student performance on course assignments in previous years.
Dept 1111.601+fall_2016
Earth ScienceOpen learning
Introduction to Geology
Geology is the core discipline of the earth sciences and encompasses many different phenomena, including plate tectonics and mountain building, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the long-term evolution of Earth’s atmosphere, surface and life. Because of the ever-increasing demand for resources, the growing exposure to natural hazards, and the changing climate, geology is of considerable societal relevance. This course introduces students to the basics of geology. Through a combination of lectures, labs, and field observations, we will address topics ranging from mineral and rock identification to the origin of the continents, from geologic mapping to plate tectonics, and from erosion by rivers and glaciers to the history of life.
Dept 1212.001+fall_2013
EngineeringOpen learning
Introduction to Nanoelectronics
Traditionally, progress in electronics has been driven by miniaturization. But as electronic devices approach the molecular scale, classical models for device behavior must be abandoned. To prepare for the next generation of electronic devices, this class teaches the theory of current, voltage and resistance from atoms up. To describe electrons at the nanoscale, we will begin with an introduction to the principles of quantum mechanics, including quantization, the wave-particle duality, wavefunctions and Schrödinger’s equation. Then we will consider the electronic properties of molecules, carbon nanotubes and crystals, including energy band formation and the origin of metals, insulators and semiconductors. Electron conduction will be taught beginning with ballistic transport and concluding with a derivation of Ohm’s law. We will then compare ballistic to bulk MOSFETs. The class will conclude with a discussion of possible fundamental limits to computation.
Dept 66.701+spring_2010
Climate ScienceOpen learning
Introduction to Sustainable Energy
This class assesses current and potential future energy systems, covering resources, extraction, conversion, and end-use technologies, with emphasis on meeting regional and global energy needs in the 21st century in a sustainable manner. Instructors and guest lecturers will examine various renewable and conventional energy production technologies, energy end-use practices and alternatives, and consumption practices in different countries. Students will learn a quantitative framework to aid in evaluation and analysis of energy technology system proposals in the context of engineering, political, social, economic, and environmental goals. Students taking the graduate version, Sustainable Energy , complete additional assignments.
Dept 10, 1, ESD, 2, 22, 1122.081J+fall_2010
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Katrina Practicum
In the wake of Katrina the entire gulf coast is embroiled in a struggle over what constitutes “appropriate” rebuilding and redevelopment efforts. This practicum will engage students in a set of work groups designed to assist local community based institutions and people in shaping the policy and practices that will guide the redevelopment and rebuilding efforts in the city of New Orleans.
Dept 1111.945+spring_2006
EnergyOpen learning
Land, Water, Food, and Climate
This reading seminar examines land, water, food, and climate in a changing world, with an emphasis on key scientific questions about the connections between natural resources and food production. Students read and discuss papers on a range of topics, including water and land resources, climate change, demography, agroecology, biotechnology, trade, and food security. The readings are supplemented by short lectures that provide context and summarize main points. The seminar provides a broad perspective on one of the defining global issues of this century. Students consider scientific controversies as well as areas of general agreement and examine practical solutions for addressing critical problems.
Dept 11.74+fall_2020
EnergyOpen learning
Leveraging Urban Mobility Disruptions to Create Better Cities
In this course, we explore how new mobility systems can be leveraged to promote equity, improve health outcomes, and increase accessibility. Lectures by transportation professors from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the United States are supplemented with interviews with preeminent entrepreneurs, city planners, community development experts, and mobility justice advocates. Topics covered include land use and urban form; new mobility business models, pricing, policy, technology, and data; the importance of designing new mobility systems for equity, health, and the environment; and racial justice within the transportation field. This course is part of the Open Learning Library, which is free to use. You have the option to sign up and enroll in the course if you want to track your progress, or you can view and use all the materials without enrolling.
Dept 11RES.11-550+spring_2021
LiteratureOpen learning
Major Authors: John Milton
In 1667, John Milton published what he intended both as the crowning achievement of a poetic career and a justification of God’s ways to man: an epic poem which retold and reimagined the Biblical story of creation, temptation, and original sin. Even in a hostile political climate, Paradise Lost was almost immediately recognized as a classic, and one fate of a classic is to be rewritten, both by admirers and by antagonists. In this seminar, we will read Paradise Lost alongside works of 20th century fantasy and science fiction which rethink both Milton’s text and its source. Students should come to the seminar having read Paradise Lost straight through at least once; this can be accomplished by taking the IAP subject, Reading Paradise Lost (21L.995), or independently. Twentieth century authors will include C. S. Lewis ( Perelandra , The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ) and Philip Pullman ( His Dark Materials ), as well as assorted criticism. Each week, one class meeting will focus on Milton, and the other on one of the modern novels.
Dept 21L21L.705+spring_2008
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Making Public Policy
This course aims to get students thinking about politics and policy as a part of their everyday life. We treat politics as a struggle among competing advocates trying to persuade others to see the world as they do, working within a context that is structured primarily by institutions and cultural ideas. We’ll begin by developing a policymaking framework, understanding ideology, and taking a whirlwind tour of the American political system. Then, we’ll examine six policy issues in depth: health care, gun control, the federal budget, immigration reform, same-sex marriage, and energy and climate change.
Dept 17, 1111.002J+fall_2014
Climate and Energy PolicyOpen learning
Malaysia Sustainable Cities Practicum
The Malaysia Sustainable Cities Practicum is an intensive field-based course that brings 15 graduate students to Malaysia to learn about and analyze sustainable city development in five cities in Malaysia. The students in the Practicum will help determine the extent to which these efforts have been successful. They will identify specific projects or policy-making efforts that the following year’s cohort of International Visiting Scholars can examine more closely. Lead Faculty Professor Larry Susskind Teaching Assistants Jessica Gordon Yasmin Zaerpoor Administrative Staff Takeo Kuwabara Selmah Goldberg
Dept 1111.384+spring_2018
Policy and AdministrationOpen learning
Managing Nuclear Technology
An examination of current economic and policy issues in the electric power industry, focusing on nuclear power and its fuel cycle. Introduces techniques for analyzing private and public policy alternatives, including discounted cash flow methods and other techniques in engineering economics. Application to specific problem areas, including nuclear waste management and weapons proliferation. Other topics include deregulation and restructuring in the electric power industry.
Dept ESD, 2222.812J+spring_2004
EngineeringOpen learning
Marine Power and Propulsion
This course discusses the selection and evaluation of commercial and naval ship power and propulsion systems. It will cover the analysis of propulsors, prime mover thermodynamic cycles, propeller-engine matching, propeller selection, waterjet analysis, and reviews alternative propulsors. The course also investigates thermodynamic analyses of Rankine, Brayton, Diesel, and Combined cycles, reduction gears and integrated electric drive. Battery operated vehicles and fuel cells are also discussed. The term project requires analysis of alternatives in propulsion plant design for given physical, performance, and economic constraints. Graduate students complete different assignments and exams.
Dept 22.611+fall_2006
PhysicsOpen learning
Mechanics of Material Systems: An Energy Approach
1.033 provides an introduction to continuum mechanics and material modeling of engineering materials based on first energy principles: deformation and strain; momentum balance, stress and stress states; elasticity and elasticity bounds; plasticity and yield design. The overarching theme is a unified mechanistic language using thermodynamics, which allows understanding, modeling and design of a large range of engineering materials. This course is offered both to undergraduate (1.033) and graduate (1.57) students.
Dept 11.033+fall_2003
Climate and Energy PolicyOpen learning
Methods of Policy Analysis
This course provides an introduction to public policy analysis. It is designed for students who may be planning a career in public or non-profit sectors. The primary goal is to help students understand the implications of public policy for different pursuits. The class examines various approaches to policy analysis by considering the concepts, tools, and methods used in economics, political science, and other disciplines. Students apply and critique these approaches through case studies of current public policy problems.
Dept 17, 1111.003J+spring_2016
Climate ScienceOpen learning
MIT Climate Portal
To inform and empower the public on the complex issue of climate change, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created a Climate Portal, an online home for timely, science-based information about the causes and consequences of climate change—and what can be done to address it. Whether you are new to climate change or ready for a deeper exploration, the MIT Climate Portal offers a virtual place to ground your knowledge and ask your questions of experts. It also highlights MIT’s latest climate change research and initiatives for action. The MIT Climate Portal is managed by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, with support from the MIT Office of the Vice President for Research.
Dept MITRES.ENV-004+fall_2020
