This course teaches how to `get things done' in a bioengineering laboratory where the interdisciplinary nature of the field creates barriers due to lack of awareness of what is possible. The project-based course empowers students to build custom experimental infrastructure, run fundamental `wet' bioengineering experiments, and analyze data. Key approaches covered in the course include: rapid prototyping; tissue culture and engineering; microscopy; functional image analysis; and core approaches in synthetic biology and genetic engineering.

This course provides a foundational exposure to contemporary research topics in Bioengineering, as well as lectures and panel discussions on strategies for success in the PhD program. The latter include strategies for time-management, selecting interesting research problems to focus on, as well as effective communications with the advisor, how to get the most out of rotations, how to write papers and give talks, and navigating collaborations.

This course offers an introduction to computational chemistry and molecular simulation, which are essential components to modern-day science and engineering, as they can provide both mechanistic insights underlying observed phenomena and predictions on thermodynamic/kinetic properties. Through pedagogical treatment of essential background, basic algorithmic implementation, and applications, students will develop knowledge necessary to follow, appreciate, and devise computational 'experiments'. Topics of emphasis include quantum chemical solution methods, Monte Carlo & molecular dynamics, and free energy/enhanced sampling.