A University Without Walls

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A University Without Walls
Chris Sorensen Physics
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• A tendency to specialize, to draw back to the
  familiar, the safe. We build walls.
• Very useful to overcome these walls. Why?
• The current vogue in science.
• Creativity is often found at interfaces.

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Koestlers Bisociation
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• What are our walls?
• Walls of our disciplines
• Teaching
• Research
• Walls of human interaction
• Professor student
• Professor professor
• Student -student

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Can we be a community of scholars?
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Center for Molecular and Solid State Energetics
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Materials ChemistryCHEM 820

• Team taught Aakeroy, Bossmann, Chikan, Higgins,
  Hollingsworth, Klabunde, Maatta, and Sorensen
• Subjects Bonding, Crystals, Properties,
  Characterization, Nanostructures, Polymers,
  Biomaterials

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Streamlined Classes

• Offer an existing 3 hour class for 1 hour too.
• Students who enroll for 1 hour are responsible
  for about 1/3 of the material.
• Instructor lectures, assigns homework, gives
  exams as normal for the 3 hours, but the
  streamlined students are only graded on a
  designated 1/3. We dont want an extra burden
  on the instructor.
• The designated 1/3 is predetermined.

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Scattering Techniques in Physical Science PHYS
808 Fall 2008 For either 3 or 1 credit (see
below) 1130 to 1245 TU Instructor Chris
Sorensen, University Distinguished Professor
The scattering of light, X-rays and neutrons
gives us a window into a great variety of
condensed, and not so condensed, matter systems
to see the arrangement and motions of their atoms
and molecules. These scattering techniques are
also illuminating for colloidal and aerosol
systems for measuring particle size, morphology
and kinetics. This class will develop the
intuition and theory necessary for a fundamental
understanding of scattering and to apply these
techniques in an experimental setting. Hands-on
demonstrations and simulations will be used when
possible. The class is suitable for both
undergraduate and graduate students and an
interdisciplinary audience of physicists,
chemists and engineers.
The three credit class will involve some
theoretical derivation of the key results. For
example, we will work through the classical Mie
derivation for light scattering by spheres. Hence
a prerequisite of Electromagnetism I, PHYS 532,
or equivalent is required. Students enrolled for
the one credit streamlined class will avoid
these major theoretical expositions etc. and will
be responsible for about one third of the
material of the three credit version. The only
prerequisite for the streamlined version is
sophomore physics such as PHYS 213 and 214.
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Streamlined Inorganic Chemistry I CHEM 711 TEXT
Inorganic Chemistry by Miessler and Tarr
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry Atomic Structure Simple Bonding Theory 3.1 Lewis Electron-Dot Diagrams 3.2 Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory Symmetry and Group Theory Molecular Orbitals 5.1 Formation of Molecular Orbitals from Atomic Orbitals 5.2 Homonuclear Diatomic Molecules 5.3 Heternuclear Diatomic Molecules 5.4 H2O Acid-Base and Donor-Acceptor Chemistry 6.1 Acid-Base Concepts as Organizing Concepts 6.2 Major Acid-Base Concepts The Crystalline Solid State Chemistry of the Main Group Elements 8.1 General Trends in Main Group Chemistry Pages 1-11 15-44 51 51-55 57-65 None 116-122 122-131 134-137 148-150 165 166-177 None 241-246
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Streamline Organic Chemistry I (page 2)
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Buffet Majors

• Student pick from a smorgasbord of classes from a
  variety of disciplines.
• To gain a major for graduation, a specified
  number of hours of core courses must be
  accumulated across the buffet.
• This will work for all degrees, BA, BS, masters
  and PhD, with the proper definitions
• The degree will be named Integrated Science with
  emphasis in

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A Possible Buffet Biochemistry, Chemistry, and
Physics Common Courses Chem. I, II, Calc. I,
II III, Physics I, II Core Courses for BS
BIOCHEMISTRY CHEMISTRY PHYSICS
Organic Chem. I Organic Chem. II Organic Chem. Lab Biochem. Seminar Biochemistry I Biochemistry I Lab Biochemistry II Physical Studies of Biomacromolecular Principles of Biology Biological Science Electives Organic Chem. I Organic Chem II Physical Chem I Physical Chem IIInstrum. Meth. of Analysis Physical Methods Lab Inorganic Tech. Inorganic Chem. I Inorganic Chem. II Physics III Physics Lab Mechanics Electromagnetic Fields II Phys. Meas. Instrum. Intro. to Quantum Mech. Therm. Stat. Phys.

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• C. P. Snow. The Two Cultures (1959)
• For I constantly felt I was moving among two
  groups---comparable in intelligence who had
  ceased to communicate

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Teaching Across the Divide

• We have physics for poets, why not poetry for
  physicists?
• Jack Holl The History of Science.
• PHYS 101 (P. World) ca. 30 readings of the
  great scientists. Primary Texts prog.
• The Great Conversations, DAS 300.
• Origins program.

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The Physical World 1Primary TextPHYS 101
Standard physical plus short readings from
Scientists Philosophers Poets
Eddington Bridgeman Galileo Newton Copernicus Joule Franklin Faraday Galvani Volta Young Thompson Rutherford Roentgen Einstein Born Meitner Frisch Hawking T.H. Huxley D. Sobel C.P. Snow Bacon Harris Hericlitus I Ching Blake Jewel Whitman

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Great Ideas in Physics Fall 2005 Physics 460, 1
credit hour Instructor Professor Chris
Sorensen Thursday, 1030, CW 145, Ref. 21925 We
will meet once a week to discuss our readings of
the original works of some of the great
physicists from antiquity to the present. I will
lecture, guide the students through these works,
and facilitate discussion. The students will
read and study the works, participate in class
discussion and give class presentations on
scientific works of their choice. The purpose of
this course is to gain a historical perspective
on the evolution of physics and gain insight to
creative scientific thought that we can apply to
our own, present day work.
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DAS 300 The Great Conversation Primary Texts
Core Course Team-taught, Dr. Laurie M. Bagby,
lead instructor   Features Primary Texts
Certificate Instruction on the techniques of
careful reading of works that are often complex
and multidimensional. Significant texts that
have important themes in intellectual history,
Ongoing historical conversation of great ideas
in fields ranging from philosophy to literature
to science traced through history Participating
Instructors Bagby, Lead Instructor, Political
Science, Donnelly, English, Frey, History,
Franke, Political Science, Sorensen, Physics  
Primary Texts Authors AristotleBurkeDe CharnyChaucerCopernicusDarwinMartin DiamondErasmusFederalist 10, 51Franklins Galileo HawkingHomerKantLutherDella MirandolaNewton, PrincipiaNietzscheDei Segni (Pope Innocent III)The Song of RolandWeinberg
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Instructional Facilities

• Open class rooms (studios), lecture halls
  (superstudios) to promote student-teacher and
  student-student interactions.
• Eng. Phys. I and II
• Optics Studio
• Physics SWAT
• Nichols Theater
• Univ. Michigan

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Communal student help rooms

• One room a few faculty spending their office hour
  in the room taking all comers.
• A neutral field.

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Research Facilities

• Open labs. Shared space and equipment and so much
  more.
• Openness to foster interactions.
• Science Café.

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Good Architecture

• The physical environment can give sense of
• community
• promote creativity
• Inspire
• Plan buildings based on neighborhoods
• suites of offices and labs
• shared equipment
• interactive spaces

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Interdisciplinary Faculty Hiring Program at the
University of Michigan

• 100 new interdisciplinary faculty
• 30 million 10M for salaries, 20M for start
  up.
• 2.5M for team teaching and new,
  interdisciplinary classes.

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Team Teaching

• Harvard Physical and Life Sciences
• five faculty/semester from biology,
  chemistry and physics.
• Princeton Science majors, integrated
• program.
• Columbia General Ed., diverse topics,
• scientific habits.

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Northwestern University Integrated Science Program
Fall Quarter Winter Quarter Spring Quarter
First Year
Mathematics 281-1  Multidimensional calculus  Physics 125-1 Mechanics  Chemistry 171-0 Accelerated general inorganic chemistry  ISP 101-1 Computing applications Mathematics 281-2  Vector operators and ordinary differential equations  Physics 125-2 Electricity and magnetism  Chemistry 172-0 Accelerated general physical chemistry  ISP 101-2 Computing applications Mathematics 281-3  Systems of differential equations, linear algebra, infinite series  Physics 125-3 Waves and oscillations  ISP 101-3  Computing applications
Second Year
Mathematics 381-0  Boundary value problems and partial differential equations  Geological Sciences 315  Physics and chemistry of the earth.  Chemistry 212-1 Organic chemistry  Mathematics 382-0  Complex variables and group theory Biological Sciences 212-1  Biochemistry and molecular biology  Physics 339-1  Quantum mechanics  Physics 339-2  Quantum mechanics  Biological Sciences 212-2  Cell biology and genetics Chemistry 348  Physical chemistry 
Third Year
Physics 339-3  Nuclear and particle physics  Biological Sciences 310 Quantitative biochemistry and molecular biology  Mathematics 383-0  Probability and statistics  Astronomy 331  Astrophysics  Biological Sciences 311  Neurobiology 
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On Oct. 23,1927, three days after its invention,
the first rubber band Is tested.
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Technology Entrepreneurship

• A bridge between the scientific/engineering and
  business/entrepreneurial worlds.
• Open to any technical grad student.
• Two year assistantship.
• Three classes
• Mangt 845 (Team taught, Katz and two who know
  what they are doing)
• Advanced Entrepreneurship
• Venture Finance
• Hands on, Preawards,NISTAC, KSURF, AMI,
• 2nd year focus

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What Do We Do?

• Streamlined courses
• Buffet Majors
• Interdisciplinary Courses
• Team Teaching
• Studios and Superstudios
• Bridges to Real World
• Interdisciplinary hires
• Cluster Hires
• Good architecture

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true reform will aim at the consilience of
science with the social sciences and humanities
in scholarship and teaching. Every college
student should be able to answer the following
question What is the relation between science
and the humanities, and how is it important for
human welfare? Consilence, the Unity of
Knowledge, Edward O. Wilson.