Online courses directory (548)
This is a foundation subject in modern software development techniques for engineering and information technology. The design and development of component-based software (using C# and .NET) is covered; data structures and algorithms for modeling, analysis, and visualization; basic problem-solving techniques; web services; and the management and maintenance of software. Includes a treatment of topics such as sorting and searching algorithms; and numerical simulation techniques. Foundation for in-depth exploration of image processing, computational geometry, finite element methods, network methods and e-business applications. This course is a core requirement for the Information Technology M. Eng. program.
This class was also offered in Course 13 (Department of Ocean Engineering) as 13.470J. In 2005, ocean engineering subjects became part of Course 2 (Department of Mechanical Engineering), and the 13.470J designation was dropped in lieu of 2.159J.
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of nonlinear optimization theory and methods. Topics include unconstrained and constrained optimization, linear and quadratic programming, Lagrange and conic duality theory, interior-point algorithms and theory, Lagrangian relaxation, generalized programming, and semi-definite programming. Algorithmic methods used in the class include steepest descent, Newton's method, conditional gradient and subgradient optimization, interior-point methods and penalty and barrier methods.
The course serves as an introduction to the theory and practice behind many of today's communications systems. 6.450 forms the first of a two-course sequence on digital communication. The second class, 6.451 Principles of Digital Communication II, is offered in the spring.
Topics covered include: digital communications at the block diagram level, data compression, Lempel-Ziv algorithm, scalar and vector quantization, sampling and aliasing, the Nyquist criterion, PAM and QAM modulation, signal constellations, finite-energy waveform spaces, detection, and modeling and system design for wireless communication.
This course provides a phenomenological approach to superconductivity, with emphasis on superconducting electronics. Topics include: electrodynamics of superconductors, London's model, flux quantization, Josephson Junctions, superconducting quantum devices, equivalent circuits, high-speed superconducting electronics, and quantized circuits for quantum computing. The course also provides an overview of type II superconductors, critical magnetic fields, pinning, the critical state model, superconducting materials, and microscopic theory of superconductivity.
This is a laboratory experience course with a focus on photography, electronic imaging, and light measurement, much of it at short duration. In addition to teaching these techniques, the course provides students with experience working in a laboratory and teaches good work habits and techniques for approaching laboratory work. A major purpose of 6.163 is to provide students with many opportunities to sharpen their communication skills: oral, written, and visual.
In the first unit, we will learn the mechanics of editing and compiling a simple program written in C++. We will begin with a discussion of the essential elements of C++ programming: variables, loops, expressions, functions, and string class. Next, we will cover the basics of object-oriented programming: classes, inheritance, templates, exceptions, and file manipulation. We will then review function and class templates and the classes that perform output and input of characters to/from files. This course will also cover the topics of namespaces, exception handling, and preprocessor directives. In the last part of the course, we will learn some slightly more sophisticated programming techniques that deal with data structures such as linked lists and binary trees. This course contains a number of sample programs and review exercises. Through these exercises, students should better learn how to write functions, use the string class, and write elementary data structures such as linked lists and bina…
This research-oriented course will focus on algebraic and computational techniques for optimization problems involving polynomial equations and inequalities with particular emphasis on the connections with semidefinite optimization. The course will develop in a parallel fashion several algebraic and numerical approaches to polynomial systems, with a view towards methods that simultaneously incorporate both elements. We will study both the complex and real cases, developing techniques of general applicability, and stressing convexity-based ideas, complexity results, and efficient implementations. Although we will use examples from several engineering areas, particular emphasis will be given to those arising from systems and control applications.
This course considers the interaction between law, policy, and technology as they relate to the evolving controversies over control of the Internet. In addition, there will be an in-depth treatment of privacy and the notion of "transparency" -- regulations and technologies that govern the use of information, as well as access to information. Topics explored will include:
- Legal Background for Regulation of the Internet
- Fourth Amendment Law and Electronic Surveillance
- Profiling, Data Mining, and the U.S. PATRIOT Act
- Technologies for Anonymity and Transparency
- The Policy-Aware Web
