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After a busy first year of teaching 3.091, Prof. Cima says, “The biggest thing I learned was the importance of feeling excited about what I’m doing. At first I was teaching the way it had been taught, then I realized I had to make it my own. This year, I’ll be jazzed about everything from the beginning.”
Evolution of 3.091
The current 3.091 subject description:
Basic principles of chemistry and their application to engineering systems. The relationship between electronic structure, chemical bonding, and atomic order. Characterization of atomic arrangements in crystalline and amorphous solids: metals, ceramics, semiconductors, and polymers (including proteins). Topical coverage of organic chemistry, solution chemistry, acid-base equilibria, electrochemistry, biochemistry, chemical kinetics, diffusion, and phase diagrams. Examples from industrial practice (including the environmental impact of chemical processes), from energy generation and storage (e.g., batteries and fuel cells), and from emerging technologies (e.g., photonic and biomedical devices).
is considerably more detailed than the description from Prof. Wulff’s first year teaching the subject, most significantly in the examples from industrial practice and emerging technologies.
Chemical and physical properties of solids as related to bonding, crystal structure, and structural imperfections. Mechanisms of energy changes in chemical reactions and phase transformations.
Starting in 1995, 3.091 has been offered both fall and spring semesters; most recently Dr. David Paul has taught the spring semester. Fall semester lectures meet in 10-250. Students are assigned to one of approximately 20 recitation sections, in which they have more individualized attention and can interact more closely with the instructors, who are drawn from DMSE faculty, grad students, and even some of our very smart undergraduates.