2016-2018 Undergraduate and Graduate Bulletin (with addenda) 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2016-2018 Undergraduate and Graduate Bulletin (with addenda) [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions


A Brief Guide to Course Descriptions

Each program described in this catalog contains detailed descriptions of the courses offered within the program.

The first line gives the official course number for which students must register and the official course title. The letters indicate the discipline of the course and the first number of the official course numbers indicates the level of the course. The levels are as follows:

  • 1XXX - Freshman Level
  • 2XXX - Sophomore Level
  • 3XXX - Junior Level
  • 4XXX - Senior Level
  • 5XXX to 9XXX - Graduate level

Typically the last number of the course number indicates the number of credits. The breakdown of periods of the course is also listed.

When selecting a course for registration, the section of the course may include the following notations:

  • “LEC” - lecture section
  • “RCT” or “RC” - recitation section
  • “LAB” or “LB” - lab section

Additionally, any other letter or digit listed in the section will further identify the section and being liked to another section of the class with the same letter and/or digit combination. Further information on sections is available from academic advisers during registration periods.

The paragraph description briefly indicates the contents and coverage of the course. A detailed course syllabus may be available by request from the office of the offering department.

“Prerequisites” are courses (or their equivalents) that must be completed before registering for the described course. “Co-requisites” are courses taken concurrently with the described course.

The notation “Also listed…” indicates that the course is also given under the number shown. This means that two or more departments or programs sponsor the described course and that students may register under either number, usually the one representing the student’s major program. Classes are jointly delivered.

 

Physics

  
  • PH-UY 4124 Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics

    4 Credits
    The course covers fundamental laws of macroscopic thermodynamics, heat, internal energy and entropy. Topics include an introduction to statistical physics, and applications of Maxwell, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions.

    Prerequisite(s): PH-UY 2344 , MA-UY 2114  , and MA-UY 2224  
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 4 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4244 Techniques and Applications of Nanotechnology

    4 Credits
    This is the second of a two-course sequence on concepts and techniques of nanotechnology. Novel function and performance can occur with materials or devices of size scales of one to 100 nanometers, a range extending from molecular scale to that of typical linewidths in contemporary microelectronics. Nanosystems may provide entirely new functions, by virtue of access enabled by the small size. Photo and x-ray lithographic patterning. Scanning probe microscopes for observation and for fabrication. Molecular machines as envisioned by Drexler. The role of Van der Waals force. Questions of machine manufacturability on the nm scale. The IBM GMR hard-drive read head. Micro- and nanoelectromechanical devices and systems. Singleelectron electronics. Molecular electronics.

    Prerequisite(s): PH-UY 3244 .
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 1
  
  • PH-UY 4364 Introduction to the Quantum Theory

    4 Credits
    The course gives a quantitative introduction to the quantum theory, which describes light, electrons, atoms, nuclei and solid matter. Superposition principle, expectation values, momentum operator and wave function, duality, current vector, Hermitian operators, angular momentum, solution of the radial equation, electron in a magnetic field, perturbation theory, WKB approximation, identical particles. Applications include alpha decay, electrons in a periodic lattice, hydrogen spectrum, helium atom, neutron-proton scattering, and quark model of baryons.

    Prerequisite(s): PH-UY 2344 , MA-UY 2114  , and MA-UY 2224  
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 4 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4444 Quantum Optics

    4 Credits
    Beginning with a review of classical optics and quantum mechanics, this course covers foundations of spectroscopy, including atomic transition rates, selection rules and spectral line shapes. The course explores the quantum nature of light. Topics include photon statistics, coherent states, squeezed light, resonant light-atom interactions, atoms in cavities and laser cooling.

    Prerequisite(s): PH-UY 3474 .
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 4 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4554 Solid State Physics

    4 Credits
    The course covers basic concepts in condensed matter physics and preparation for the advanced quantum theory of solid state.

    Prerequisite(s): PH-UY 2344 , MA-UY 2114  , and MA-UY 2224  
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 4 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4601 Special Topics in Physics

    1 Credits
    Variable credit special topics courses in physics.

    Prerequisite(s): PH-UY 2344  and Applied Physics adviser approval. (Course may be repeated for additional credit.)
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 0 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4602 Special Topics in Physics

    2 Credits
    Variable credit special topics courses in physics.

    Prerequisite(s): PH-UY 2344  and Applied Physics adviser approval. (Course may be repeated for additional credit.)
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 0 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4603 Special Topics in Physics

    3 Credits
    Variable credit special topics courses in physics.

    Prerequisite(s): PH-UY 2344  and Applied Physics adviser approval. (Course may be repeated for additional credit.)
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 0 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4604 Special Topics in Physics

    4 Credits
    Variable credit special topics courses in physics.

    Prerequisite(s): PH-UY 2344  and Applied Physics adviser approval. (Course may be repeated for additional credit.)
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 0 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4902 Introduction to Senior Project in Physics

    2 Credits
    A qualified senior physics student or group of students work with a faculty member (and possibly graduate students) on an advanced problem in physics. In this introductory phase the student(s) and adviser select a suitable theoretical or experimental problem in the subject area and use various resources to solve it.

    Weekly Lecture Hours: 0 | Weekly Lab Hours: 4 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4904 Senior Project in Physics

    4 Credits
    In the project’s concluding phase, senior physics students or group of students work with a faculty member (and possibly graduate students) to solve an advanced problem in interdisciplinary physics. The conclusion of the project is a written report and an oral presentation made to the supervising faculty.

    Weekly Lecture Hours: 0 | Weekly Lab Hours: 8 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4912 Senior Seminar in Physics

    2 Credits
    Senior physics students, in consultation with the instructor, study and prepare presentations on several current research topics in the general area of interdisciplinary physics. Students’ performance is rated on the mastery of the material chosen and also on the quality of the presentation made to the instructor and the seminar members.

    Weekly Lecture Hours: 2 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • PH-UY 4994 Bachelor’s Thesis in Physics

    4 Credits
    This course can be used to replace the required PH-UY 4904 Senior Project in Physics in the BS (Applied Physics) and BS (Math & Physics) curricula. Credit can be earned for either the thesis or project course, but not for both courses.

    Weekly Lecture Hours: 4

Psychology

  
  • PS-GY 997X MS Thesis


    This course is an independent research project that demonstrates scientific competence and that is performed under the guidance of advisers. The course may be repeated for total up to 6 credits.

    Prerequisite(s): consent of adviser.
  
  • PS-UY 2324W Environmental Psychology

    4 Credits
    This course looks at how people interact with their environments: how settings affect behavior; how people change environments to fit their needs; and how people can become an active part of the environmental-design process. The course discusses how people use space and the way environmental design meets (or fails to meet) human needs. These concerns are valid for very-small-scale design problems (as in human-factors engineering); mid-size spaces (architecture and interior design); large scale spaces (communities, urban areas).

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 2614 Psychology of the Internet

    4 Credits
    This class investigates aspects of human behavior in terms of the Internet. The Internet is a technological phenomenon that allows people separated by huge distances to interact with each other in relatively seamless fashion. Does the Internet allow people to connect in ways never possible before? Or are these new connections variations of previous human interactions, only on a computer screen. For all of its positive attributes, the Internet has a negative side: People become increasingly dependent on interacting only through the Internet. Is this dysfunctional? What characterizes addictive behavior? Can addictive behavior be attributed to a physical action as opposed to a biological substance?

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 2644 Creativity and Innovation

    4 Credits
    This course explores the nature of the creative act. What does it take to be creative? What are some of the cognitive and personality variables that aid and hinder creativity? What are the characteristics of great innovators? Is innovation purely individual? Or are innovators a product of their time? The course also surveys literature on teaching creativity and innovation

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 2664 Intelligence: Real and Artificial

    4 Credits
    This course explores the nature of intelligence, both human and computer, and covers historical debates centered on intelligence testing. Can computers be programmed to think? If they can, what would a “thinking” computer look like? The course covers issues such as the Turing test and human-computer interaction.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 2724 Human Factors in Engineering Design

    4 Credits
    The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with basic concepts, research findings and theories related to the way in which human characteristics, capabilities and limitations, including physiology and psychology, affect system design and performance. Students will develop a basic understanding of methods for studying and assessing human behavior and for analyzing human performance. It will introduce aspects of system, interface, organizational design and physical setting as they influence operators and performance.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 3164 Health Psychology

    4 Credits
    This course is designed to acquaint students Health psychology as a field concerned with how to promote and maintain health through examination of causes and correlates of health, and prevention, intervention and treatment of illness. The course will 1) provide a thorough examination of health beliefs, illness cognitions and psychological aspects of health care (such as factors affecting service utilization, the role of health care provider and of patient) all of which are of vital importance in the prevention and treatment of illnesses; 2) focus on changing specific health related behaviors through prevention and intervention programs, and the role of stress, coping and social support in maintaining one’s physical and emotional well-being and in the etiology of diseases; and 3) explore the management of chronic and terminal illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and HIV. It is expected that by the end of the semester, students will have a deep understanding of the relationship among biological, psychological and social factors in predicting individuals’ health status.

    Note: Satisfies a HuSS Elective.

  
  • PS-UY 3604 Psychology of Internet Security

    4 Credits
    This course looks at the relationship between psychology and online security. How do computer hackers access secure computers strictly by asking people for their password? What are the key features of current security messages and how can they be made more explicit so the average computer user can understand them? What social-psychology principles are required for a secure network? And what perceptual issues help secure a computer network?

    Prerequisite(s): One level 2 STS cluster course.
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 3694 Humor and Modern Media

    4 Credits
    Humor is considered one of the most pleasurable positive emotions. The questions asked will include: What makes something funny? Why do people find someone falling down funny in one culture and tragic in another? What are the cross-cultural implications of humor and how have they been affected by a global worldview? How has the Internet changed our view of humor, now that technologies like YouTube make it possible for anyone to be a director or cinematographer with a worldwide audience? Topics will include psychoanalysis; superiority; reversal theories of humor; the psychology and psychobiology of humor; and humor, laughter and mental health.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 3724 Psychology of Sustainability

    4 Credits
    This course addresses the psychological bases of environmental problems, investigates theories of behavior change as they relate to environmental issues and introduces practical strategies to foster behavior change. Topics include the ways in which the fit (or lack of it) of design to human behavior can affect environmentally relevant behaviors, such as energy use and recycling. Course issues include designing green buildings and creating sustainable communities.

    Prerequisite(s): One level 2 PS course.
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 3754 Psychology of Living in Extreme Environments

    4 Credits
    This course considers issues, research and theory in relation to creating human habitats in extreme space, undersea and polar regions. The course reviews firsthand experiences and formal studies of life in these settings, and extrapolates from work in other, less extreme human settings. Psychological issues include privacy, territoriality, isolation and crowding, light and views of nature, as well as personality and organizational issues. Students complete a research paper and engage in a team-design project.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 3814 Social Psychology of Virtual Worlds

    4 Credits
    This course explores human relations in the virtual world. Do real-world interactions maintain themselves in an online community, or do the rules of social interaction change significantly in a virtual environment? When people perceive themselves as being anonymous, do they feel the same responsibility for their own behavior, or do they interact with others differently as they would in the real world? This course examines the psychology of online, virtual relationships with a view to compare and contrast them with real-world relationships.

    Prerequisite(s): One level 2 PS course.
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • PS-UY 3834 Special Topics in Psychology

    4 Credits
    This course discusses new or experimental topics in psychology offered by current or visiting faculty.

    Prerequisite(s): One level 2 PS course.
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.


Registrar

  
  • RE-GY 9990 PhD Examination

    0 Credits
    PhD students register for this course in any semester in which a PhD qualifying exam is taken. This course carries no credit, and the student incurs no fees. It provides a place in the student’s official transcript to record when the qualifying exam was taken and the result.


Science and Technology

  
  • STS-UY 402X STS Global Experience

    1-4 Credits
    Students in this course participate in a global study away experience to learn about Science and Technology Studies in a global context. The course involves travel to a Global study site, field trips, and guest lectures. It also involves a real world research/service project tied to the global location.

  
  • STS-UY 1002 Introduction to Science and Technology Studies

    2 Credits
    This course introduces contemporary topics in Science and Technology Studies, emphasizing the relations among science, technology and society from philosophical, historical, and sociological points of view. This course is required for STS majors and satisfies an HuSS General Education Elective for all other majors.

  
  • STS-UY 1004/W Science, Technology, and Society

    4 Credits
    This course introduces important issues, historical and contemporary, related to science and technology from a variety of social, political and philosophical viewpoints. The multidisciplinary approach helps students to understand the interaction between science, technology and society and to discover the conditions that foster technological innovation. The scientific and technological way of thinking becomes clear through historical examples, helping students to consider important issues of science and technology policy, such as how science and technology can be used to benefit society and how one can foster innovation in a society or an organization.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements.
    Note: Satisfies a HuSS Elective.

    Weekly Lecture Hours: 4
  
  • STS-UY 2004 Science, Technology, and Society

    4 Credits
    This course introduces students to important issues, historical and contemporary, related to science and technology from a variety of social, political, and philosophical viewpoints. We shall use a multidisciplinary approach to understand the interaction between science, technology and society and to discover the conditions that foster technological innovation. The scientific and technological way of thinking will become clear through historical examples, helping us to consider important issues of science and technology policy, such as how science and technology can be used to benefit society and how one can foster innovation in a society or an organization.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2134 Philosophy of Science and Technology in China and India

    4 Credits Credits
    This course addresses the fundamental questions of philosophy-What is real? What is good? How do we know?-by consideringthe answers by classical philosophers from India and China. Philosophy in Asia has not been viewed as an abstract academic subject with little or no relevance to daily life. Rather, it has been seen as one of life’s most basic and important enterprises. Philosophy is seen as essential to overcoming suffering and improving the quality of human life. Since Asian philosophy is concerned with practical issues to a greater extent than in the West, the course considers how technology is understood and valued. Attention is given to the history of science in China and India. Since no rigid distinctions exist between philosophy and religion in Asian thought, the place of science and technology in relation to human values is also different. The class examines the Asian philosophical tradition to understand both its historical importance and its relevance to society today. 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2144 Ethics and Technology

    4 Credits Credits
    This course considers how technology shapes and patterns-and is shaped and patterned by-human activities, from a moral point of view. This course focuses on how the technologically textured world changes human life, individually, socially and culturally, for better or worse. The course considers several views of technology and several ethical theories for evaluating technology. The course explains the structures of change and transformation and develops critical forms of thought, so that students can understand, evaluate, appreciate and criticize technological development. 
     

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2204 Philosophy of Technology

    4 Credits Credits
    This survey of prominent approaches to the philosophy of technology asks: What are the philosophical problems presented by technology? How does technology influence ethics, politics and society? What is the relation of philosophy of technology to the traditional branches of philosophy (aesthetics, epistemology, metaphysics)? 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2214 Medical Ethics

    4 Credits
    This course is concerned with the many ethical issues that arise in the field of medicine, issues such as: patient autonomy, informed consent, experimentation on live subjects, confidentiality, truth telling, conflict of interest and the treatment of relatives. We will also study moral issues pertaining to new medical techniques such as online medicine and prenatal genetic screening. These issues will be approached via an understanding of important historical, legal and philosophical foundations of medical ethics. We will study ideas from the Hippocratic Oath and Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions up to the codes of today’s ethics review boards. Important legal issues explored involve the right to healthcare, the obligation of parents to seek proper medical care for their children and euthanasia. Some of the important ethical-philosophical notions studied will be: the law of double effect, the obligation of beneficence and non-malevolence, utilitarianism, and Kantian ethics. While this course is open to all majors, it’s specific aim is to prepare the future medical practitioner to understand and deal with the various moral challenges of the profession.

    Prerequisite(s): Prerequisites: Completion of the first year writing requirements   and   
    Note: Satisfies a HuSS Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2224/W Science and Sexuality

    4 Credits
    This course explores and analyzes the constructions of sexuality in the biological, social, and medical sciences, focusing on issues in evolutionary biology, endocrinology, neuroscience, psychiatry, comparative anatomy, and genetics. Throughout the semester, we shall compare the various meanings given to sexuality across disciplinary frameworks, paying attention to the increasingly unstable relationships between the categories of fiction and science, reproduction and sexuality, nature and culture, male and female, animal and human, and hetero- and homosexuality. We shall also assess how expert scientific discourses influence popular understandings of sexuality and vice versa. Specifically, we will examine how they contribute to the normalization and official regulation of certain kinds of behavior, how they satisfy a desire for stories about human origins, and how they fashion terms of attraction, repulsion, affection, antagonism, dominance, and submission according to which sexuality is putatively expressed.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2234 Introduction to the History of Technology

    4 Credits Credits
    This course surveys generally the history of technology (from the early modern period to the present) and investigates how technology shapes society, and how society molds technology. Topics include ancient technologies, the printing press, the Industrial Revolution, the replacing of laborers with machines, electricity, transportation, Ford and the invention of the automobile, Taylorism and the organization of labor, technology during World War II (including radar, V1and V2 rockers and the Enigma machine) and the rise of the NASA space program. 
     

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2244/W Magic, Medicine, and Science

    4 Credits
    This course looks at the metaphysical and epistemological origins of three systems of thought - the organic, the magical, and the mechanical - and considers the extent to which modern science can be seen as arising from their synthesis. Topics include Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, the Hermetic Corpus, Ficino’s naturalistic magic, Pico’s supernatural magic, Paracelsus and the ontic theory of disease, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, the Cambridge Platonists, and Newton.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2254 From Heat Engines to Black Holes

    4 Credits Credits
    What is the nature of heat? How does it relate to atoms, black holes, information and a demon in a box full of gas molecules? This course answers these questions by developing the history of thermodynamics. That history begins with early 18th-century caloric theories of heat, 19th-century analyses of steam engines, the kinetic theory of gases, the statistical approach to mechanics, atomic theories of matter, the concept of entropy, early 20th-century concepts of information and, finally, current applications to black holes (as well as Maxwell and his famous demon). The course considers theoretical descriptions of the phenomena and the technologies derived from them. 
     

    Prerequisite(s):  Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2264/W Addressing Public Policy Issues in the Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

    4 Credits
    This course explores public-policy issues on critical and often controversial questions in science (e.g., cap-and-trade, global warming, LEDs as lighting sources, biofuels, spectrum allocation), medicine (e.g., embryonic stemcell research, national health care, genetic therapy, workplace risks of nanotechnology), and technology (e.g., off-shore drilling, biotechnology, clean coal, nuclear energy, “smart” power). Students will select areas in which to specialize and will be required to submit a white paper on one of these major issues. The report will be based on library research and face-to-face interviews with experts in the field. As students draft sections of their white papers, they will submit them for class discussion and they will meet periodically with the instructor to review their progress.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2274 Space and Spacetime

    4 Credits Credits
    What is the nature of space? Is it an independently existing substance, or does it merely consist of the relations between physical objects? Can motion be described simply in terms of the relational properties of objects, or must people always define motion with respect to an absolute motionless substratum? Does the existence of left-handed gloves entail the existence of absolute space? This course considers these and other questions about the nature of space and time as they appear in the writings of philosophers and scientists, including Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, Berkeley, Kant, Poincaré and Einstein. 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2294 Quantum Mechanics and Information

    4 Credits Credits
    Quantum mechanics is today the best-confirmed theory of particle dynamics. The theory is not only the basis for all digital technologies, but also the theoretical foundation for the best-confirmed theories of matter (quantum field theories). However, since its inception, quantum mechanics has been beset with conceptual problems. No consensus exists on how to interpret it: What would the world be like if it were true? This course develops the mathematical formalism of the theory and explores several proposals about how to interpret it. Other topics include conceptual issues of quantum teleportation, quantum computing and quantum cryptography. 
     

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2314 It’s About Time

    4 Credits
    From looking at our watch and noting the change from day to night and counting the days, months and years, time seems so mundane that we take it for granted and usually think little more about it. But what is time and why do we measure it so obsessively and with such precision? This course will concern itself with all aspects of time, from the evolution of calendars (including our own) to precision timepieces and our own internal clocks. And finally, the nature of time itself and its relationship to space and other aspects of our universe will be discussed. This course will draw on knowledge from history, anthropology, psychology, technology, astronomy and physics to gain an understanding of this very basic “dimension”.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2354 Evolution

    4 Credits
    This course discusses the development of the theory of evolution based on the amassed evidence from the geological and biological sciences over the past two hundred years. Darwin’s idea that natural selection was the driving force behind evolution will be considered in detail. Early rival theories to Darwin’s ideas will also be discussed as part of the process leading to the modern theory. The integration into the theory of genetics and molecular biology have led to a much deeper understanding of how organisms are related. The role of chance factors will also be considered. Application of evolution theory to problems in economic biology and modern medicine and epidemiology will also be discussed. Finally, current controversies regarding Intelligent Design will be addressed and put into a historical context.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2364 History of Aviation and Aviation Technology

    4 Credits Credits
    In little more than 100 years, aviation has passed from a ground-hugging flight of less than a minute to high-altitude, supersonic flights that cross continents and oceans. This course surveys the history of aviation and the technological innovations that led to this crucial modern technology. This course also discusses the physics of flight, how increased understanding of aerodynamic principles led to successive aircraft improvements, and the development of new materials and control systems. Although military research drove many technological innovations, this course focuses on the economics and development of commercial aviation, which has changed the world. The course also looks at ultramodern trends in aircraft design and control, including unmanned cruise missiles and aircraft, and new commercial-aircraft designs and production techniques. 
     

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2374 The Ship


    Ships, the largest human-made moving objects, have played a pivotal role in trade and warfare throughout history. This course covers the history, development and technology of ships from ancient times to the present. The course discusses aspects of the atmosphere and seas as they relate to ship design and use. Technological advances in hull design, materials, sails and power also will be discussed. The use of ships in trade, human transportation, warfare, fishing, piracy and global exploration are covered, along with the satellite industries of shipbuilding and port support. The course also looks at the manning of ships, the social and military organization, the life of mariners, the development of navigation and its technologies in an historical context, and submarine evolution and technologies. 
     

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2444 History and Philosophy of Internet Technology

    4 Credits
    This course investigates implementations of internet technologies. We will examine the founding premises of the internet, uncovering the assumptions about culture, policy objectives, and ideals of practitioners, both before and after the worldwide web. The course investigates typical claims about the internet, such as its capability to inculcate democracy, and also the development of the attendant hardware and software infrastructure.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2454/W Digital Humanities

    4 Credits
    What happens to works of the humanities when they are distributed electronically and created on computers? What values from the analog humanities should be preserved in the digital world? This course examines traditional works of literature available in electronic formats as well as digital-only creations.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2464W Public Policy Issues in Telecommunications

    4 Credits
    This course addresses the myriad public policy issues arising from the phenomenal growth of the telecommunications industry, especially in light of convergence and the fierce competition that it has spawned over the past decade. Among the most pressing issues of the day are networking neutrality, Internet censorship, privacy, standardization, the enforcement powers of the FCC, workplace monitoring, and spectrum allocation. In addition, the course will introduce the student to the basic concepts of the technology, provide a historical perspective of the industry (with an emphasis on the cataclysmic chain of events set off by the Modified Final Judgment in 1983 that led to the break-up of AT&T), and explore trends. As a major requirement, students will be asked to give oral and written presentations on a major international or domestic public policy issue currently besetting this industry.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2534 Computer Ethics

    4 Credits Credits


    Using a case study approach, this course explores the issues of professional and technological ethics especially as it pertains to networked computers in a global setting.  The course will begin with the appropriate ethical codes of the professional societies, including the code of ethics for the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) but also codes in other areas such as finance and medicine. The mandates and expectations of the codes will be interpreted from varying perspectives and will be applied concretely to the specifics of the cases under consideration.

     

    Ethical issues will be approached in a manner similar to that of engineering problems and students will be expected to show a step-by-step process for the resolution of actual and potential ethical conflict. The technique of “line drawing” will be used to exhibit the alternatives and to help justify the ultimate decision made.  In addition to video lectures Power Point charts, and notes the course teaching techniques will employ social media (“Google +”) to create a class community, “NYU Classes” to present texts and case studies, built-in assessment tools (e.g. “Ivanhoe”), and inter-active role-playing games to permit student dialogue and debate on assigned topics. These online tools do not demand excessive bandwidth and can be used in both synchronous and asynchronous settings.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2554 Science and Pseudoscience

    4 Credits Credits
    This survey of popular pseudoscientific claims emphasizes issues in the philosophy of science, including demarcation, evidential warrant, scientific progress, science and public policy, and fallacies of reasoning. Topics include UFO sightings and alien abductions, the Nemesis theory of dinosaur extinctions, astrology, creationism, psychic phenomena, theories of intelligence, alternative medicines, global warming and cold fusion. The course emphasizes student input to determine the topics covered. 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2604 Ethics and Engineering

    4 Credits
    This course examines issues relating to engineering practice and applied technology. We will study foundations for moral decision making such as professional codes and ethical theories such as Kantianism and utilitarianism. These ethical tools will be applied to a range of case studies. We will also seek a deeper understanding of important issues and challenges stemming from technology with an eye to how globalization and its attendant cultural and moral pluralism affect them. Topics include: business in a globalized world, information technology, military technology, food production, the environment, bioethics, energy, and emerging technologies.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies HuSS Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2614/W Science Fiction for Innovation

    4 Credits
    A distinct genre of literature emerges during the twentieth century that imagines new possibilities and challenges for human society in light of scientific and technological change. This course reviews important authors of this field, considering whether science fiction can be an agent of social change and how well it can critique or imagine the interaction between science, technology, and society.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2624/W The Rhetoric of Science

    4 Credits
    This course is an introduction to the history, theory, practice, and implications of rhetoric - the art and craft of persuasion. Specifically, this class focuses on the ways that scientists use various methods of persuasion as they construct scientific knowledge. By first examining the nature of science and rhetoric, we will then examine texts written by scientists and use rhetorical theory to analyze those texts. We will look at the professional scientific research articles and other genres of scientific writing. Finally, we’ll investigate the way that rhetoric plays a role in the everyday life of scientists. Throughout the class, we will wrestle with questions, such as: How is science rhetorical?; What can rhetorical analysis tell us about the ways that scientists use persuasion?; and, How might rhetorical analysis limit our understanding of science?

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2634 Psychology of the Internet

    4 Credits Credits
    This class investigates aspects of human behavior in terms of the Internet. The Internet is a technological phenomenon that allows people separated by huge distances to interact with each other in relatively seamless fashion. Does the Internet allow people to connect in ways never possible before? Or are these new connections variations of previous human interactions, only on a computer screen. For all of its positive attributes, the Internet has a negative side: People become increasingly dependent on interacting only through the Internet. Is this dysfunctional? What characterizes addictive behavior? Can addictive behavior be attributed to a physical action as opposed to a biological substance? 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2644 Creativity and Innovation

    4 Credits Credits



    This course explores the nature of the creative act. What does it take to be creative? What are some of the cognitive and personality variables that aid and hinder creativity? What are the characteristics of great innovators? Is innovation purely individual? Or are innovators a product of their time? The course also surveys literature on teaching creativity and innovation 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2664 Intelligence: Real and Artificial

    4 Credits Credits
    This course explores the nature of intelligence, both human and computer, and covers historical debates centered on intelligence testing. Can computers be programmed to think? If they can, what would a “thinking” computer look like? The course covers issues such as the Turing test and human-computer interaction. 
     

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 2724 Dinosaurs: Resurrecting an Extinct Species

    4 Credits
    Large fossil bones have fascinated people since ancient times, and after 1842 some of these fossils were described as belonging to the taxum Dinosauria. Since then, new discoveries and scientific techniques have led to a series of changes in both the views of scientists and the public as to what dinosaurs were, what groups they were related to, and how they behaved and interacted with their environments. This course will look at the views of fossils in ancient Greece and Rome, and also in some modern tribal societies. Most emphasis will be on the changing views of paleontology, geology, biology and evolution from the Enlightenment period to the present. All major dinosaur groups will be discussed, as well as their physiology, relationships to other animals, behavior and ecology, as scientific ideas evolve and new discoveries are made. Finally, how scientists reconstruct dinosaurs through images, sculpture and mountings for the public and popular culture’s fascination with dinosaurs will be discussed.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  
  • STS-UY 3004/W Seminar in Science and Technology Studies

    4 Credits
    This course considers the current state of the field of Science and Technology Studies. Students are exposed to the range and methods of STS as well as their own place within the field. The course is designed specifically to bring students with different academic backgrounds into contact with each other in a classroom setting.

    Prerequisite(s): One Level 2 STS Cluster Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3013 Directed Study in STS

    3 Credits
    Directed study under supervision of faculty adviser in Humanities and Social Sciences. Students are exposed to foundational research techniques under the guidance of a faculty adviser. Library research, written and oral reports required.

    Prerequisite(s): STS-UY 2004  and permission of STS faculty adviser.
    Note: Does not satisfy a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3204/W Science and Difference

    4 Credits
    This course considers the historical development of the science of difference - in particular, race and gender - from the scientific revolution to the present. We seek to understand historical episodes of cultural anxiety over biological variation by examining the construction of difference in living populations. Topics include historical theories of human variation, scientific racism and its rejection, the history of ethnicity and sexuality, colonialism and eugenics.

    Prerequisite(s): One Level 2 STS Cluster HuSS Elective, and completion of first year writing requirements

    Note: Satisfies a HuSS Elective

  
  • STS-UY 3214 Science & Feminism

    4 Credits
    This course will introduce students to feminist perspectives from the field of Science & Technology Studies (STS). Scholars from anthropology, sociology, history, and philosophy of science are studied to gain insight on how gender and race affect the practice of science and how we come to think about facts, progress, modernity, and our technological and scientific worlds. Students are expected to become familiar with the basic theories, concepts, and questions of STS and will learn to apply critical feminist theory to analyze the day-to-day practice of science.

    Prerequisite(s): One Level 2 STS Cluster TCS Elective
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3234 The Phenomenon Of Life

    4 Credits Credits
    This course offers an existential interpretation of biological facts. The problem of inwardness as examined in modern philosophy is addressed from the standpoint of scientific biology. The course approach is not be limited by the anthropocentric tradition of idealist and existentialist philosophy, nor the materialist standards of natural science. The course explores the great contradictions of human experience-freedom and necessity, autonomy and dependence, self and world, creativity and mortality-through the ascending order of organic powers and functions: metabolism, motility, desiring, sensing and perceiving and on to imagination, art and mind. 
     

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements and One level 2 STS cluster course. 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3244 The History of Light


    What is the nature of light? How does it relate to magnets, electric circuits, TVs, radioactivity and the fundamental forces of nature? More importantly, what really happens to your burrito when you microwave it? This course answers these and similar questions by following the historical development of three apparently distinct and unrelated phenomena- electricity, magnetism and light. Topics range from descriptions of these phenomena by the Greeks to Maxwell’s 19thcentury unification of them into a single phenomenon to Einstein’s theory of special relativity to their incorporation into the Standard Model of contemporary physics. The course considers theoretical descriptions of the phenomena and technologies derived from them. 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3254/W Philosophy of Science


    The philosophy of science is divided into two subfields: The first studies the nature and methodology of science. The second examines the conceptual and philosophical foundations of particular scientific fields. This course considers topics in the first subfield, including philosophical attempts to describe scientific explanations, laws of nature and the process by which evidence confirms theories in science. The course also considers the nature of scientific theories: what they are, how they change and how they can and should be interpreted

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements and One level 2 STS cluster course. 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3264 Physics, Information and Computation

    4 Credits Credits
    This course investigates the conceptual foundations of contemporary notions of information and computation from the point of view of physics. The course is divided into four parts: Part I considers the relation between entropy and global concepts of information; Part 2 considers the relation between space-time structure and physical concepts of computation; Part 3 considers the relation between quantum and classical information; and Part 4 considers attempts to reconceive physics entirely in information-theoretic terms. 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements and One level 2 STS cluster course. 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3284/W Relativity and Spacetime

    4 Credits Credits
    The first part of this course develops the physics underlying special relativity and considers such conceptual questions as: Does Special Relativity prohibit faster-than-light travel? Does it allow a traveling astronaut to age less and return home in the distant future? What is the significance of Einstein’s famous equation “E = mc2”? The second part of the course develops the physics underlying general relativity and considers conceptual issues surrounding such current applications as time machines, wormholes and “warp-drive” spacetimes. 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements  and One level 2 STS cluster course. 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3354 Brain, Behavior, and the Mind: The History and Development of Neuroscience

    4 Credits
    This course traces the development of neuroscience and its techniques to the present day. Ranging from mesmerism and phrenology to physiology, genetics, and modern neuroscience, it considers various theories of the brain and its relationship to the body. Because neuroscience and its sub-disciplines will be one of the leading sciences of the 21st century, this course considers how an increased understanding of brain/mind relationships holds the promise for innovation in treating mental disorders, altering human habits, countering the effects of stress, and elsewhere. Other topics that may be discussed include learning and memory at both the cell and brain levels, and the ways insights from neuroscience are applied in medicine, law, economics, government policy, and religion.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements and one 2000-level STS Cluster TCS Elective
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3434/W Hypermedia in Context

    4 Credits
    This course investigates precursors to new media, revealing the possibilities and limitations of today’s incarnations. Searching analog media for examples of supposedly new technologies like associative thinking, multimedia, and participatory design, we will examine the social and economic structures that allow for such tools to arise and to determine what exactly is new in new media. Further, we consider how we can use the concept of antecedent to critique present manifestations of media and how we can incorporate ideas from the past into the present while avoiding homologies.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements, and one Level 2 STS Cluster Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3604 Psychology of Internet Security

    4 Credits Credits
    This course looks at the relationship between psychology and online security. How do computer hackers access secure computers strictly by asking people for their password? What are the key features of current security messages and how can they be made more explicit so the average computer user can understand them? What social-psychology principles are required for a secure network? And what perceptual issues help secure a computer network

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements and One level 2 STS cluster course. 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3624 Science and Technology in the Literary Sphere

    4 Credits
    How does literature seek to accommodate new ideas from science? When do new technologies find their way into the public sphere? What happens when scientists and engineers translate their findings into novels or other narratives? This course reads literature as evidence of the diffusion of technological and scientific ideas. When literary forms are used to promote, challenge, or even misrepresent scientific or technical developments, we gain insight into the interaction between scientists, engineers, and society at large. This course may be organized around different themes, but it always explores how scientific and technological ideas fare in the republic of letters.

    Prerequisite(s): One Level 2 STS Cluster Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3814 Social Psychology of Virtual Worlds

    4 Credits Credits
    This course explores human relations in the virtual world. Do real-world interactions maintain themselves in an online community, or do the rules of social interaction change significantly in a virtual environment? When people perceive themselves as being anonymous, do they feel the same responsibility for their own behavior, or do they interact with others differently as they would in the real world? This course examines the psychology of online, virtual relationships with a view to compare and contrast them with real-world relationships. 

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements and One level 2 STS cluster course. 
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3904 Special Topic in STS

    4 Credits
    Special topic in Science and Technology Studies. Topic to be decided by instructor.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements and one Level 2 STS Cluster Humanities and Social Sciences Elective and instructor’s permission.
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 3914 Independent Study in STS

    4 Credits
    Independent study in Science and Technology Studies. Topic to be decided by instructor.

    Prerequisite(s): One Level 2 Humanities and Social Sciences Elective from the STS Cluster and instructor’s permission.
    Note: Satisfies a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 4002 Capstone Project I in Science and Technology Studies

    2 Credits
    The capstone project is an opportunity for STS majors to complete an independent, integrative, piece of scholarship on an important issue involving science, technology, and society. The capstone experience is intended to bring together students’ past learning in previous courses, and to extend and deepen it by focusing on a specific, cumulative project. The capstone includes a substantial research paper and an oral presentation.

  
  • STS-UY 4003 Study Abroad

    3 Credits
    For STS majors only. Takes the form of either an internship or a semester studying abroad. Internship option: Supervised semester-long project carried out in a community or industry setting. Evaluated on the basis of written and oral reports presented to faculty and external project Co-sponsors. Students must maintain a course-load equivalent of 12 credits (including the 3 for STS 4003) during this semester. Study-Abroad option: Semester-long course of study at a foreign institution. Students must maintain a course-load equivalent of 12 credits (including the 3 for STS 4003) during this semester.

    Prerequisite(s): Junior/Senior status and permission of STS faculty adviser.
    Note: Does not satisfy a Humanities and Social Sciences Elective.

  
  • STS-UY 4034 Internship

    4 Credits
    Students may undertake an internship for academic credit with an appropriate private, public, or non-profit agency or firm.  The internship is an opportunity to extend learning outside of the classroom into a real world setting, and to explore career options tied to the major.  Students complete 140 hours at the internship site and attend occasional class meetings.  The course involves completing a learning contract, regular reflections, assignments, and a final presentation. 

    Prerequisite(s): IDM/SUE/STS majors only.  Permission of instructor required.
  
  • STS-UY 4202 Capstone Project II in Science and Technology Studies

    2 Credits
    The second half of a 2 course sequence, in which STS majors complete an independent, integrative piece of scholarship on a current issue involving science, technology, and society. This course centers on analysis and writing; students will draw upon modes of STS analysis and use critical thinking skills to transform their project proposal from Capstone I into a formal research paper. Students will bring the depth and breadth of their STS knowledge to this culminating senior project, which will also include a research prospectus, literature review, and visual presentation/oral defense.

    Prerequisite(s): A grade of B- or better in STS-UY 4002  and senior standing.
  
  • STS-UY 4401 Independent Study in Science and Technology Studies

    1 Credits

Society, Environment and Globlization

  
  • SEG-UY 2124W Public Policy Issues and the Internet: A Global Perspective

    4 Credits
    Following years of government-funded computer-research programs, successful communication between computers was accomplished in 1969, the start of the Internet era. The World Wide Web, created to facilitate the acquisition of information on the Internet, followed 20 years later. This course traces the history of the Internet, heralded as the free, open exchange of information among people all over the globe, and explores the maelstrom of complex issues that have arisen to thwart this idealistic dream of its planners: censorship, net neutrality, privacy and the social media, the role of the Internet as a political force, cybersecurity, copyright infringement, consumer tracking, street mapping. These and other controversial global issues are considered from the standpoint of the problems they pose and the policies of the various governments toward them.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • SEG-UY 2184/W Beyond Oil: Fueling Tomorrow’s Vehicles

    4 Credits
    This course explores the alternatives to oil that vehicle manufacturers are pursuing in their desire to wean away from oil and its mercurial price swings. Students will be required to choose two of these alternative approaches and prepare white papers on each, covering the technology, advantages, limitations or drawbacks, cost saving, environmental impact and likelihood of success in the market place. The focus will be on biofuels, hybrids, the fuel cell, natural gas, hydrogen, the electric car.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.

  
  • SEG-UY 2194/W Writing About Nature and the Environment

    4 Credits
    In this course, students explore today’s major environmental and ecological issues and write a number of pieces that discuss causes and possible solutions. Each article is based on a literature search and on interviews with professionals. Class critiques of articles are an integral part of the learning process. Topics include global warming, renewable energy, health and the environment, environmental law and biodiversity. Authors of the best pieces are encouraged to submit them for publication.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first year writing requirements
    Note: Satisfies a humanities and social sciences elective.


Transportation

  
  • TR-GY 900X Readings in Transportation

    Variable Credits
    This is an individually guided effort involving research into a topic of interest, usually growing from a course the student has taken. Readings courses should not duplicate material available in a regularly scheduled course, but should involve additional research on a topic or topics of interest to the student that is related to a course or courses. A formal written report is required. The student must have a faculty adviser who agrees to work with them and an agreed-upon topic before registering. The student may register for 1 to 3 credits for a readings effort, in proportion to the effort and as approved by the supervising instructor.

    Prerequisite(s): Permission of supervising instructor.
  
  • TR-GY 997X MS Thesis in Transportation

    3 Each Credits
    Students electing to take a 6-credit MS Thesis commit to a significant individually guided research effort, resulting in a formally defended thesis report, bound in accordance with Institute requirements.

    Prerequisite(s): MS degree status and permission of thesis adviser.
  
  • TR-GY 999X PhD Dissertation in Transportation Planning and Engineering

    Variable (24 Total) Credits
    The dissertation is an original investigation embodying the results of comprehensive research in a specific area of transportation worthy of publication in a recognized, formally refereed transportation journal. Students must defend formally their dissertations and submit a bound written document. Students must complete a minimum of 24 credits of dissertation registration before defending. Once the dissertation is started, the student must maintain a minimum of 3 credits of registration during each semester (not including summer) until the dissertation is complete. During the last semester of registration, the student may be permitted to register for .5 credit with the permission of the Graduate Office and dissertation adviser.

    Prerequisite(s): Passing grade for RE 9990 PhD Qualifying Exam, graduate standing, and dissertation advisor approval
  
  • TR-GY 6011 Fundamental Concepts in Transportation

    1.5 Credits
    This course provides the contextual foundation for the study of transportation systems that reflect the perspectives of users, system providers/owners, and communities. The connection between transportation supply, travel demand, service volume, and level of service will be explored and quantified for travelers and freight movement. The impacts of transportation system performance on travel behavior will be discussed. The roles of technology and institutions in transportation will be explored through class discussions.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of instructor.
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 1.5 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 6013 Fundamental Concepts in Transportation

    3 Credits
    This course provides the contextual foundations to study urban transportation systems, using performance criteria reflecting the perspectives of system providers/owners, users and communities. The connection between transportation supply, travel demand, service volume and level of service is explored and quantified for various travel modes. The impacts of transportation system performance on travel behavior, communities and the environment is discussed. The role of technology and institutions is examined with case examples.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate status or permission of instructor.
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 6021 Quantitative Analysis in Transportation

    1.5 Credits
    An overview of basic concepts in statistics and analytical analysis that are commonly used in transportation engineering.  Issues of sample size are addressed for both collection of field data and conducting various types of user surveys.  Statistical interpretation of study results is also treated.  Introductions, with transportation illustrations, to queuing theory, regression analysis, and ANOVA are included.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 1.5 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 6053 Transportation Economics and Finance Fundamentals

    3 Credits
    This course introduces students to the basic principles of engineering economic analysis and their application to transportation project alternatives.  Fundamental concepts such as present worth and annual cost are described and illustrated. Methodologies for comparison of transportation alternatives are introduced: Benefit/Cost Ratio, rate of return, the nature of the costs and benefits of transportation alternatives. Financing of transportation is covered: where does the money come from, the highway trust fund, tolls, and other alternative options of financing transportation are covered.

    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3
  
  • TR-GY 6113 Forecasting Urban Travel Demand

    3 Credits
    The purpose of this course is to study methods and models used in estimating and forecasting person travel in urban areas. The objective is to understand the fundamental relationships between land use, transportation level of service and travel demand, and to apply methods and state-of-the-practice models for predicting person travel on the transportation system.

    Pre/Co-requisite: TR-GY 6013  or permission of instructor.
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 6211 Economic Analysis of Transportation Alternatives

    1.5 Credits
    This course introduces students to the basic principles of engineering economic analysis and their application to transportation project alternatives.  Fundamental concepts such as present worth and annual cost are described and illustrated.  Methodologies for comparison of transportation alternatives are introduced, including the Present Worth Method, the Annual Cost Method, the Benefit-Cost Ratio Method, and the Rate of Return Method.  The nature of the costs and benefits of transportation alternatives is discussed

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of instructor.
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 1.5
  
  • TR-GY 6223 Intelligent Transportation Systems and Their Applications

    3 Credits
    This course introduces the concepts and applications of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and its growing role in the management of transportation systems. The course stresses the role of ITS as national policy, as specified in major transportation funding legislation – ISTEA, TEA21 and SAFETY-LU. A systems engineering approach to overall development of ITS technologies is stressed. Major components of ITS are discussed, and examples of their application treated. Coordination and integration of ITS components are treated.

    Prerequisite(s): TR-GY 6013  or permission of adviser.
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 6231 Transportation Planning Principles and Practice

    1.5 Credits
    This course discusses the principles guiding the planning, design and operation of urban transportation systems. The concepts of mobility and accessibility are explored  through an analysis  of the interactions of land use, transportation supply and travel demand. Examples of transportation planning practice include a review of the Urban Transportation Planning Process in metropolitan areas and presentations from guest speakers.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 1.5 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 6313 Traffic Control and Signalization I

    3 Credits
    Traffic controls are imposed to provide for safe, efficient and orderly movement of people and goods on our nation’s street and highway systems. Traffic control is examined in the urban context in which both vehicles and pedestrians be accommodated. Techniques for quantifying traffic stream behavior are described. Federal, state and local standards for designing and implementing control devices are presented. Selection of control measures, design and timing of traffic signals at individual intersections and in arterial networks is treated in detail. Use and application of current computer tools – HCS++ and Synchro – are illustrated.

    Prerequisite(s): TR-GY 6013  or permission of instructor.
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 6323 Traffic Control and Signalization II

    3 Credits
    In furtherance of the material covered in TR-GY 6313 , emphasis is on the arterial as a facility and on systems concepts such as traffic calming, access management and roundabouts as a design element. Also covered are network problems induced by traffic congestion and remedies such as critical intersection control, network metering, oversaturated control policies and real time sensing, and traffic impacts from growth and development, including assessment and mitigation. The course employs the use of modern tools, including VISSIM, Synchro/SIMTraffic and HCS++, and two projects must be completed by students working in teams. This course should be taken in the student’s last or penultimate semester.

    Prerequisite(s): TR-GY 6313  or equivalent and TR-GY 6113  or equivalent.
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 6333 Transportation and Traffic Concepts, Characteristics, and Studies

    3 Credits
    The course covers basic concepts in transportation and traffic engineering, including:  volume, demand, and capacity; traffic stream parameters and their meaning; transportation modes and modal characteristics.  The impact of traveler and vehicle characteristics on traffic flow and on other modes is presented and discussed.  The importance of data collection is emphasized with sample studies, such as volume, speed and travel time, and safety.  Capacity and level of service analysis for uninterrupted flow facilities, including freeways, multilane highways and two-lane highways is demonstrated using methodologies of the 2010 Highway Capacity Manual.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or permission of instructor
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 6343 Traffic Operations & Control

    3 Credits
    The course focuses heavily on signalization, with an introduction to simulation and signal timing tools. The course covers warrants, timing pretimed signals, understanding actuated controllers and their settings, as well as detector types placement.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or departmental consent
  
  • TR-GY 6403 Transportation and Traffic Project

    3 Credits
    This is a capstone course involving individual and/or group projects that include several different aspects of transportation planning and engineering. The project will be different each year, and focus on a problem of current interest and importance.

    Prerequisite(s):   ,   ,   or permission of instructor.
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3 | Weekly Lab Hours: 0 | Weekly Recitation Hours: 0
  
  • TR-GY 7013 Urban Transportation & Logistics Systems

    3 Credits
    This course provides graduate students with operations research methods to solve logistics problems faced by decision-makers for congested urban infrastructure. Optimization and evaluation methods covered include linear programming, network flow, integer programming, vehicle routing, facility location, functions of random variables, Markov processes, (point, spatial, and Jackson) queueing, and queue tolling. Students will design and analyze a toy system related to one of the following applications: public transport, shared mobility, ITS applications, freight deliveries, traffic operations.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate Standing or Department Permission
    Weekly Lecture Hours: 3
 

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