Contents
Overview
The University of Chicago is a prestigious private research university located in Chicago, Illinois. The university consists of one undergraduate College, five graduate divisions, six professional schools, and the Graham School of Continuing Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. The university has an undergraduate student body of 5,692 students and 9,502 graduate and professional students. The university manages Argonne National Laboratories and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and is affiliated with the Marine Biological Laboratories. The school boasts 89 Nobel Prize winners who have either served as faculty members or graduated as students of the university.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The University of Chicago seeks to establish a more prominent role in the growing Chicago-area entrepreneurship ecosystem as evinced by numerous developments in programs to stimulate and foster innovation and entrepreneurship. The university recently unveiled its first engineering department the Institute for Molecular Engineering, and a new center for providing services to students and faculty members interested in pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities called the Chicago Innovation Exchange. In this Landscape Canvas, the various components of the entrepreneurial ecosystem will be explored in compliance with the Wenger Model.
Entrepreneurial Discovery
The University of Chicago offers various classes and programs to expose students to entrepreneurship.
MENG 20000. Introduction to Emerging Technologies. 100 Units.
This course will examine five emerging technologies (stem cells in regenerative medicine, quantum computing, water purification, new batteries, etc.) over two weeks each. The first of the two weeks will present the basic science underlying the emerging technology; the second of the two weeks will discuss the hurdles that must be addressed successfully to convert a good scientific concept into a commercial product that addresses needs in the market place.
PHYS 22600. Electronics. 100 Units.
The goal of this hands-on experimental course is to develop confidence, understanding, and design ability in modern electronics. This is not a course in the physics of semiconductors. In two lab sessions a week, we explore the properties of diodes, transistors, amplifiers, operational amplifiers, oscillators, field effect transistors, logic gates, digital circuits, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, phase-locked loops, and more. Lectures supplement the lab.
BIOS 11140. Biotechnology for the 21st Century. 100 Units.
This course is designed to provide a stimulating introduction to the world of biotechnology. Starting with an overview of the basic concepts of molecular biology and genetics that serve as a foundation for biotechnology, the course will segue into the various applied fields of biotechnology. Topics will include microbial biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, biofuels, cloning, bioremediation, medical biotechnology, DNA fingerprinting and forensics. The goal of this course is to provide the Biology non-majors with an appreciation of important biotechnology breakthroughs and the associated bioethics issues
BIOS 24206. Peering Inside the Black Box: Neocortex. 100 Units.
The neocortex is the multilayered outermost structure of the mammalian brain. It is the site of higher brain functions including reasoning and creativity. However, the complexity of the neocortex—it is comprised of ~20 billion neurons which have 0.15 quadrillion connections between them—seems to preclude any hope of achieving a fundamental understanding of the system. Recent technological innovations have opened novel avenues of investigation making realization of the neocortex an increasingly tractable problem. This course will place particular emphasis on how to critically read scientific papers as we evaluate and discuss current experimental approaches to the neocortex. Integral to this evaluation will be the detailed discussion of the latest technological approaches.
CMSC 22010. Digital Fabrication. 100 Units.
Digital fabrication involves translation of a digital design into a physical object. While digital fabrication has been around for decades, only now has it become possible for individuals to take advantage of this technology through low cost 3D printers and open source tools for 3D design and modeling. In this course we will cover the foundations of 3D object design including computational geometry, the type of models that can and can’t be fabricated, the uses and applications of digital fabrication, the algorithms, methods and tools for conversion of 3D models to representations that can be directly manufactured using computer controlled machines, the concepts and technology used in additive manufacturing (aka 3D printing) and the research and practical challenges of developing self-replicating machines. We will have several 3D printers available for use during the class and students will design and fabricate several parts during the course.
CMSC 23400. Mobile Computing. 100 Units.
Mobile computing is pervasive and changing nearly every aspect of society. Sensing, actuation, and mediation capabilities of mobile devices are transforming all aspects of computing: uses, networking, interface, form, etc. This course explores new technologies driving mobile computing and their implications for systems and society. Current focus areas include expanded visual experience with computational photography, video and interactive augmented reality, and synchronicity and proximity-detection to enable shared social experiences. Labs expose students to software and hardware capabilities of mobile computing systems, and develop the capability to envision radical new applications for a large-scale course project.
CMSC 23800. Game Construction. 100 Units.
Computer games are one of the most exciting applications of computer technology. They also are large software systems that embody cutting-edge graphics, as well as techniques from AI, scientific simulation, networking, and databases. This course introduces the student to the basic algorithms and techniques used in computer-game construction. Students work in teams to design and create games using existing libraries for graphics, physics simulation, and so forth.
ECON 22600. Innovators. 100 Units.
Economists believe that innovation is a primary source of economic growth. Yet although most innovations are made by individuals or small groups, until recently economists have not studied how those exceptional people produce their discoveries. Recent research has shown that there are two very different types of innovators, who have different goals and follow different processes. This course surveys this research, examining the careers and innovations of important practitioners in a range of modern arts, including painters, novelists, sculptors, poets, movie directors, photographers, songwriters, and architects, as well as entrepreneurs and scientists. The material covered in this course adds a new dimension to our understanding of creativity and of how innovators in many different activities produce new forms of art and science.