Societal development is best quantified through economic growth. Estimates of the world’s per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) show four distinct growth periods. The Agrarian Age of the beginning of civilization to the mid-18th century had a slow growth rate that was almost imperceptible. Then came the Industrial Age, from the mid-18th century to the mid-20th century, with a significant growth rate driven by innovations based on the growth of scientific disciplines - the Mechanics of Newton, the Electricity and Magnetism of Maxwell and the Laws of Thermodynamics of Boltzman, Carnot and others. From the mid-20th century to the beginning of the 21st was the steeper growth of the Information Age that was incubated by the Quantum Theories of Bohr, Planck and Schroedinger that led to computers, integrated circuits, and the Internet. And now, with the deciphering of the DNA code by Watson and Crick, followed by the advances in recombinant processes and genetic engineering, an even steeper growth rate is anticipated for the Biological Materials (Bioterials) Age of the 21st century.

This course will follow a highly interactive format:

1. Short introduction of the topics
2. Reading and gathering of resource materials
3. Small group discussions
4. Small group projects
5. Write up of activity journals to be included in the individual portfolio
6. Oral or poster presentations.

Students will learn about the scientific discoveries and the associated technological developments responsible for the three most recent growth periods. They will be asked to do a presentation on a topic of their choice after thoughtful academic research and personal reflection. There will also be room to speculate on future developments.

As we journey through Physics, we are astounded by a cornerstone commonly shared in each and every part of physics: The conservation of electric charge, mass, energy, momentum and angular momentum. No matter it is a falling apple or rubbed glass, furious fire or rising tide, the electric charge, momentum, mass and energy do not come out from nowhere. We do not know where they come from at the very beginning, but we are able to trace where they go next. One may think the conservation laws restrict the freedom of the universe, but more believe these are the very laws that keep the universe sustainable, and that without them human beings cannot exist.

This course will focus on describing physical phenomena in everyday life. Conservation laws in topics including force and motion, electricity and magnetism, field, wave and optics, and atomic physics will be covered. Conservation laws in contemporary topics like relativity, quantum mechanics and/ or astrophysics will also be introduced. The course consists of interactive lectures where demonstrations, videos and Personal Response System (PRS) will be used, and laboratory sessions where students can perform hands-on experiments or activities, produce an artifact showing certain physical phenomena, and/ or investigate an artifact on certain physical phenomena.

Over the last two to three decades, the relationship between global climate change and increasing energy consumption by both industrialized and developing nations has been firmly established. One aspect of this climate change is global warming, the adverse effects of which know no national boundaries. To mitigate the risks and impacts of those effects, industrialized nations and major developing nations must effectively work together to derive and implement solutions for their ever increasing energy use that are based on scientific knowledge and technological innovations.

This course introduces students to the concepts behind global climate change and other energy issues:

1. Interactions among the sun, the earth, and human energy consumption that lead to global warming;
2. The evidence supporting a direct correlation between global warming and human-generated causes;
3. Various profiles of human energy consumption and the implications of changes in those profiles;
4. Physical, economic, and political risks of global warming;
5. Mitigation of adverse impacts of global warming;
6. Changes in public policy to limit and eventually stop global warming;
7. Technological solutions and innovations that complement those public-policy changes; and
8. What all of the above means for all of us.

Answers to the question of human nature, of who and what we are, abound in the history of philosophy and extend into all areas of philosophical inquiry. The question of technology, although a relatively recent intellectual concern, has also pervaded the realm of philosophy. The fact that technology can aid human beings in their quest for the good life or be catastrophically destructive, combined with its apparent potential to alter fundamental aspects of human nature, has led to philosophic reactions ranging from wholehearted endorsement of technology to wholesale rejection of humanity as the “technological species”.

This philosophy course explores the question of human nature in light of the extraordinary technological advancements of the contemporary era, including new sources of communication (e.g. the Internet), developments in biotechnology (e.g. the mapping of the human genome), developments in artificial intelligence and cybernetics, and modern devices of warfare (e.g. nuclear weapons), among others. Students will consider how the human ability to transform our environment by means of culture and technology affects our individual and collective self-understanding, as well as our reflections on the meaning and value of human life.

Although this is a philosophy course, it is interdisciplinary in scope. Students may be exposed to readings from a wide range of disciplines, including literature, history and biology. They will critique primary philosophical works, participate in discussions and debates, and write analytical essays.

Game theory is a fascinating subject with applications in many areas. It encompasses strategic interactions in competitive and cooperative environments, with each agent making decisions that react to each other’s actions. As a central tool for economics and the social sciences, it is applied across a wide variety of fields, including computer science, neuroscience, biology, psychology and philosophy. It is also an excellent topic to expose students to the power of mathematical reasoning.

This course will give students a quick survey on many important topics in game theory such as combinatorial games, games in extensive form, games in strategic form, games in coalition form, Kuhn tree, information sets, backward induction, 2-person zero-sum games, mixed strategies, Nash Equilibrium, repeated Prisoner's Dilemma, and more.

More and more organizational and societal problems in the modern world will need to be solved by teams of people who bring with them different expertise, perspectives and experiences. Having people of such diverse backgrounds working together, however, does not automatically lead to effective teamwork. This course will discuss the knowledge, skills and attitude that one must develop in order to contribute productively as a team member. Special emphasis will be put on raising students’ intercultural sensitivity, so as to enhance their communication and conflict resolution skills in a multicultural setting.

Students will learn about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and how that assessment can contribute to being effective member in multicultural teams. By the end of the course, students should be able to:

1. Describe stages of team development and their sequence;
2. Identify the key characteristics of a high-performing team and explain why they are important;
3. Apply their heightened sensitivity towards intercultural issues in communicating with others;
4. Contribute as productive members in team meetings;
5. Evaluate their own performance in communication, conflict resolution and project management; and
6. Develop specific plans for continuous improvement.