Cool Courses
The expanse of courses offered at Penn Engineering encompasses an education that will challenge you through a problem-solving, discovery-oriented approach to learning. From robotics to biotechnology to computer networking to materials discovery, students interested in engineering and science will find that their classes are cutting edge and offer them the opportunity to receive a hands-on, transformative education.
Featured Course
Clinical Preceptorship in Bioengineering (BE 400)
Focus on a clinical specialty related to your scientific and technological interests and apply it to your engineering degree. Watch a procedure, sit in on a case discussion, shadow a clinician, engage in a clinical research project, or all of the above. Learn how the fields of Bioengineering and Medicine are inter-related and rely upon each other and take advantage of our proximity to one of the nation’s top hospitals and medical schools, just yards away from your door.
Instructors: Gershon Buchsbaum | David Eckman
Links: Bioengineering Department | BE Courses
Networked Life (CIS 112)
What kind of science is appropriate for understanding Facebook? How does Google find what you're looking for... and exactly how do they make money doing so? How does your position in an economic network (dis)advantage you? Examine the answers to these questions and how our world is connected -- socially, economically, strategically and technologically -- and why it matters. Participate in communal experiments in distributed human decision-making and discover just what it means to be “networked.”
Instructor: Michael Kearns
Links: Course Website | Computer and Information Science Department (CIS) | All CIS Courses
Robotics of Bioinspired Systems (ESE 313 )
At the interface between robotics and biology, find an example in the biological world of a desired robotic behavior, then extract the underlying mechanical and physical principles and apply them to your robotic design. Using EduBot (see photo), work to solve a problem dealing with legged robotic systems and possible add to a corner of scientific literature dealing with these systems’ complex adaptive behaviors, including locomotion, manipulation, mapping, situational awareness, and localization.
Instructor: Daniel Koditschek
Links: Course Webpage | Electrical and Systems Engineering Department (ESE) | All ESE Courses | GRASP Lab
Fundamentals of Mechanical Prototyping (MEAM 201)
Like to take things apart? Like to build new devices and tools? This is the course for you! Learn how a very early conceptual prototype is designed , then immerse yourself in the MEAM manufacturing laboratory to incorporate part generation, machining, turning, laser cutting and manufacturing processes to make exact prototypes for new mechanical and technological devices. Incorporate the use of the latest computer-aided design and manufacturing technologies to become adept at mechanical prototype design.
Instructor: Jonathan Fiene
Links: Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics Department (MEAM) | MEAM Courses
Drug Discovery and Development (CBE 562 )
Discover the benefits of the use of robotics for large-scale experimentation in the quest for new compounds that could be future drug development targets. Explore skills such as micropositioning, micromanipulation, liquid handling, combinatorial chemistry, microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip design, DNA biochips and microarray technologies. Through a technology called high-throughput screening, witness the generation and analysis of biological diversity to identify potential new pharmaceutical agents.
Instructor: Scott Diamond
Links: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department (CBE) | CBE Courses
Structural Materials (MSE 220 )
How is it that the spokes of a bicycle wheel can be so thin and why don’t they rust? How do surgical implants respond to the body’s environment and vice versa? Take an in-depth look at polymers, metals, composites, flexible biological connective tissue and rigid bone tissue with a focus on medical devices. Connect the nanostructure of solids to their macroscopic properties in this course dealing with the interaction of materials’ physical properties and structures.
Instructor: Karen Winey
Links: Course Webpage | Materials Science and Engineering Department (MSE) | MSE Courses
Introduction to Entrepreneurship (EAS 545)
Have a keen interest in creating technological innovation, but not sure how to bring your ideas to the marketplace? Explore the roles of inventors and founders in successful tech ventures and how a successful product or technology is created. Learn to investigate an innovative technology, assess its market potential and recommend positioning strategies for the venture, bringing an idea from its technology-driven discovery to a consumer-driven product.
Instructor: Tom Cassel
Links: Course Webpage | Engineering Entrepreneurship Program | All EAS Courses