Courses tagged with "Information Theory" (203)

This course studies fundamental design and implementation ideas in the engineering of operating systems. Lectures are based on a study of UNIX and research papers. Topics include virtual memory, threads, context switches, kernels, interrupts, system calls, interprocess communication, coordination, and the interaction between software and hardware. Individual laboratory assignments involve implementation of a small operating system in C, with some x86 assembly.

6.637 covers the fundamentals of optical signals and modern optical devices and systems from a practical point of view. Its goal is to help students develop a thorough understanding of the underlying physical principles such that device and system design and performance can be predicted, analyzed, and understood.

Most optical systems involve the use of one or more of the following: sources (e.g., lasers and light-emitting diodes), light modulation components (e.g., liquid-crystal light modulators), transmission media (e.g., free space or fibers), photodetectors (e.g., photodiodes, photomultiplier tubes), information storage devices (e.g., optical disk), processing systems (e.g., imaging and spatial filtering systems) and displays (LCOS microdisplays). These are the topics covered by this course.

This course is broad, covering a wide range of topics that have to do with the post-pc era of computing. It is a hands-on project course that also includes some foundational subjects. Students will program iPAQ handheld computers, cell phones (series 60 phones), speech processing, vision, Cricket location systems, GPS, and more. Most of the programming will be using Python®, but Python® can be learned and mastered during the course.

This course was also taught as part of the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) programme as course number SMA 5508 (Pervasive Computing).

This course examines classical and quantum models of electrons and lattice vibrations in solids, emphasizing physical models for elastic properties, electronic transport, and heat capacity. Topics covered include: crystal lattices, electronic energy band structures, phonon dispersion relatons, effective mass theorem, semiclassical equations of motion, and impurity states in semiconductors, band structure and transport properties of selected semiconductors, and connection of quantum theory of solids with quasifermi levels and Boltzmann transport used in device modeling.

This course is offered to graduates and focuses on understanding the fundamental principles of the "front-end" processes used in the fabrication of devices for silicon integrated circuits. This includes advanced physical models and practical aspects of major processes, such as oxidation, diffusion, ion implantation, and epitaxy. Other topics covered include: high performance MOS and bipolar devices including ultra-thin gate oxides, implant-damage enhanced diffusion, advanced metrology, and new materials such as Silicon Germanium (SiGe).

6.334 examines the application of electronics to energy conversion and control. Topics covered include: modeling, analysis, and control techniques; design of power circuits including inverters, rectifiers, and DC-DC converters; analysis and design of magnetic components and filters; and characteristics of power semiconductor devices. Numerous application examples will be presented such as motion control systems, power supplies, and radio-frequency power amplifiers. The course is worth 6 engineering design points.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the C programming language, the workhorse of the UNIX operating system and lingua franca of embedded processors and micro-controllers. The first two weeks will cover basic syntax and grammar, and expose students to practical programming techniques. The remaining lectures will focus on more advanced concepts, such as dynamic memory allocation, concurrency and synchronization, UNIX signals and process control, library development and usage. Daily programming assignments and weekly laboratory exercises are required. Knowledge of C is highly marketable for summer internships, UROPs, and full-time positions in software and embedded systems development.

Welcome to 6.041/6.431, a subject on the modeling and analysis of random phenomena and processes, including the basics of statistical inference. Nowadays, there is broad consensus that the ability to think probabilistically is a fundamental component of scientific literacy. For example:

• The concept of statistical significance (to be touched upon at the end of this course) is considered by the Financial Times as one of "The Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Science".
• A recent Scientific American article argues that statistical literacy is crucial in making health-related decisions.
• Finally, an article in the New York Times identifies statistical data analysis as an upcoming profession, valuable everywhere, from Google and Netflix to the Office of Management and Budget.

The aim of this class is to introduce the relevant models, skills, and tools, by combining mathematics with conceptual understanding and intuition.

6.821 teaches the principles of functional, imperative, and logic programming languages. Topics covered include: meta-circular interpreters, semantics (operational and denotational), type systems (polymorphism, inference, and abstract types), object oriented programming, modules, and multiprocessing. The course involves substantial programming assignments and problem sets as well as a significant amount of reading. The course uses the Scheme+ programming language for all of its assignments.

In this subject, we consider two basic topics in cellular biophysics, posed here as questions:

1. Which molecules are transported across cellular membranes, and what are the mechanisms of transport? How do cells maintain their compositions, volume, and membrane potential?
2. How are potentials generated across the membranes of cells? What do these potentials do?

Although the questions posed are fundamentally biological questions, the methods for answering these questions are inherently multidisciplinary. As we will see throughout the course, the role of mathematical models is to express concepts precisely enough that precise conclusions can be drawn. In connection with all the topics covered, we will consider both theory and experiment. For the student, the educational value of examining the interplay between theory and experiment transcends the value of the specific knowledge gained in the subject matter.

This course is jointly offered through four departments, available to both undergraduates and graduates.

In this subject, we consider two basic topics in cellular biophysics, posed here as questions:

1. Which molecules are transported across cellular membranes, and what are the mechanisms of transport? How do cells maintain their compositions, volume, and membrane potential?
2. How are potentials generated across the membranes of cells? What do these potentials do?

Although the questions posed are fundamentally biological questions, the methods for answering these questions are inherently multidisciplinary. As we will see throughout the course, the role of mathematical models is to express concepts precisely enough that precise conclusions can be drawn. In connection with all the topics covered, we will consider both theory and experiment. For the student, the educational value of examining the interplay between theory and experiment transcends the value of the specific knowledge gained in the subject matter.

This course is jointly offered through four departments, available to both undergraduates and graduates.

This course explores the detection and measurement of radio and optical signals encountered in communications, astronomy, remote sensing, instrumentation, and radar. Topics covered include: statistical analysis of signal processing systems, including radiometers, spectrometers, interferometers, and digital correlation systems; matched filters and ambiguity functions; communications channel performance; measurement of random electromagnetic fields, angular filtering properties of antennas, interferometers, and aperture synthesis systems; and radiative transfer and parameter estimation.

This course is conducted as an artificial intelligence programming contest in Java. Students work in teams to program virtual robots to play Battlecode, a real-time strategy game. Optional lectures are provided on topics and programming practices relevant to the game, and students learn and improve their programming skills experientially. The competition culminates in a live Battlecode tournament.

This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

This course covers a number of advanced "selected topics" in the field of cryptography. The first part of the course tackles the foundational question of how to define security of cryptographic protocols in a way that is appropriate for modern computer networks, and how to construct protocols that satisfy these security definitions. For this purpose, the framework of "universally composable security" is studied and used. The second part of the course concentrates on the many challenges involved in building secure electronic voting systems, from both theoretical and practical points of view. In the third part, an introduction to cryptographic constructions based on bilinear pairings is given.

6.780 covers statistical modeling and the control of semiconductor fabrication processes and plants. Topics covered include: design of experiments, response surface modeling, and process optimization; defect and parametric yield modeling; process/device/circuit yield optimization; monitoring, diagnosis, and feedback control of equipment and processes; and analysis and scheduling of semiconductor manufacturing operations.

This course comprises of a seminar on planning and operation of modern electric power systems. Content varies with current interests of instructor and class; emphasis on engineering aspects, but economic issues may be examined too. Core topics include: overview of power system structure and operation; representation of components, including transmission lines, transformers, generating plants, loads; power flow analysis, dynamics and control of multimachine systems, steady-state and transient stability, system protection; economic dispatch; mobile and isolated power systems; computation and simulation.

6.003 covers the fundamentals of signal and system analysis, focusing on representations of discrete-time and continuous-time signals (singularity functions, complex exponentials and geometrics, Fourier representations, Laplace and Z transforms, sampling) and representations of linear, time-invariant systems (difference and differential equations, block diagrams, system functions, poles and zeros, convolution, impulse and step responses, frequency responses). Applications are drawn broadly from engineering and physics, including feedback and control, communications, and signal processing.

6.171 is a course for students who already have some programming and software engineering experience. The goal is to give students some experience in dealing with those challenges that are unique to Internet applications, such as:

• concurrency;
• unpredictable load;
• security risks;
• opportunity for wide-area distributed computing;
• creating a reliable and stateful user experience on top of unreliable connections and stateless protocols;
• extreme requirements and absurd development schedules;
• requirements that change mid-way through a project, sometimes because of experience gained from testing with users;
• user demands for a multi-modal interface.