Difference between revisions of "20.345:Course Information"

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===Lab notebook===
 
===Lab notebook===
You must maintain a lab notebook or other suitable documentation. Keep a detailed, accurate record of your work. Carbon copy lab notebooks are dependable; however, more technologically advanced solutions are encouraged. Consider using the course wiki instead of a paper notebook. Whatever technology you choose, entries must be contemporaneous and clear. Annotate each entry with the date and time it was made. Group members may elect to maintain individual or joint notebooks.
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You must maintain a lab notebook or other suitable documentation. Keep a detailed, accurate record of your work. Carbon copy lab notebooks are dependable; however, more technologically advanced solutions are encouraged. Evernote is a very capable solution by which you can easily archive and share notes composed of text, screen shots, photos, photos of hand-written notes and much more. Or consider using the course wiki instead of a paper notebook. Whatever technology you choose, entries must be contemporaneous and clear. Annotate each entry with the date and time it was made. Group members may elect to maintain individual or joint notebooks.
  
 
Your lab notebook will be evaluated thrice: three weeks into the final project, six weeks in, and at the end of the project.
 
Your lab notebook will be evaluated thrice: three weeks into the final project, six weeks in, and at the end of the project.

Revision as of 20:51, 14 January 2014

20.345: Bioinstrumentation Project Lab
The Bioinstrumentation Teaching Lab has 12 student stations equipped with vibration isolation tables, oscillopes, power supplies, hand tools, and computer data acquisition systems. The lab maintains an inventory of more than 15,000 optical, optomechanical, and electronic components for student projects. There are specialized stations for optic cleaning and electronic fabrication.

Overview

Laser tweezers can exert piconewton-scale forces on small dielectric particles. They are used to manipulate and measure forces generated by single biological molecules.

Sophisticated measurement techniques play a central role in modern biological research. 20.345 is a hands-on course that allows students to explore of some of the most advanced methods in use. The course emphasizes application of optical, electronic, micromechanical, and microfluidic technologies to biological measurement problems on a scale from single molecules to whole organisms. There will be two short lab exercises over the first five weeks of the semester. You will develop a written proposal for a substantial, original project that you will execute over the last nine weeks. Your project will be an opportunity to pursue a specific technique in depth. You will have many chances to work on your writing, presentation, and project planning skills. Active participation is a vital part of the course.

Students should have a background in physics, biology, computer programming, and linear systems. Tutorials will be given during the first weeks of class for students who have not previously studied geometric optics or those in need of a refresher. Review sessions on electronics and linear systems will also be offered.



Lectures

Lectures will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:00 PM in room 4-231. The first few lectures will introduce the two lab exercises and discuss final projects. Other lectures will cover multidimensional transforms, microfluidic devices, neural recording, advanced microscopy methods, atomic force microscopy, mass spectrometery, and other techniques. Nine of the 26 meetings will be reserved for student presentations. Attendance at these sessions is required. Each student must fill out a written evaluation form for every presentation.

The second lecture will include a mandatory discussion of laser safety.

Assignments and grading

There will be one structured lab to kick off the semester, three problem sets, one exam and the primary class project. Grades will be weighted as follows:

  • 40%: Participation
  • 40%: Group project report
  • 10%: Structured lab and homework (P/F)
  • 10%: Exam

The project

A good final project must be feasible, relevant and novel. Unfortunately, the demands of novelty are frequently at odds with achievability. For the purposes of this course, feasibility is nearly always the more important consideration. Resist the temptation to choose a topic that might be more appropriate for your Ph. D. thesis. Replicating a previously reported method inexpensively, in a teaching lab environment is both noble and novel. Developing an entirely new in vitro neuronal guidance technology is folly. Work closely with your mentor to find the right balance. The lab has a modest budget for purchasing new components and equipment, if the case for them is compelling.

Students may work individually or in small groups. Working with a partner is encouraged.

The milestones for the final project are:

  • Proposal
    • Statement of interest
    • Literature search
    • Written proposal
    • Proposal presentation
  • Milestones
    • Lab notebook check 1
    • Midway presentation
    • Lab notebook check 2
  • Final submission
    • Final presentation
    • Poster
    • Final documentation

Proposal

Before you begin working in the lab, you must develop a project proposal. The proposal should clearly describe your intended goal, the reasons your work is important and relevant, the methods you intend to use, the resources that will be required, related work that others have done, and the steps you plan to take along the way. One of the project ideas presented in class may inspire you, or you may decide to develop one of your own ideas. Based on the subject area of your endeavor, you will be paired with a member of the instructional staff to serve as a mentor. Develop your proposal in close consultation with your mentor.

Statement of interest

Turn in a short statement of interest with your solutions to the first problem set. The statement should summarize your relevant background, identify techniques you are interested in investigating, and outline your goals this semester. Be as specific as possible. If you would like to work with microcontrollers or super-resolution microscopy, say so. Your statement will help the instructors allocate resources for the semester and identify students that are interested in similar areas.

Literature search

The value of a careful literature review cannot be understated. This frequently neglected step can make the difference between breakthrough research and a fool’s errand. A conscientious search has many benefits, not the least of which is avoiding time consuming pitfalls that have been identified by others. Turn in your literature search with Problem Set 2, and use the format from this page.

Written proposal

Your written proposal is due at the end of the fourth week of class. Follow the project proposal outline. The proposal should be less than ten pages, excluding supplementary materials. Have your mentor review the proposal &mdash perhaps more than once &mdash before submitting it. You will present the proposal to the class the following week.

Proposal presentation

Lab notebook

You must maintain a lab notebook or other suitable documentation. Keep a detailed, accurate record of your work. Carbon copy lab notebooks are dependable; however, more technologically advanced solutions are encouraged. Evernote is a very capable solution by which you can easily archive and share notes composed of text, screen shots, photos, photos of hand-written notes and much more. Or consider using the course wiki instead of a paper notebook. Whatever technology you choose, entries must be contemporaneous and clear. Annotate each entry with the date and time it was made. Group members may elect to maintain individual or joint notebooks.

Your lab notebook will be evaluated thrice: three weeks into the final project, six weeks in, and at the end of the project.

If you choose wiki technology, please follow these guidelines.

Poster

Project teams must create a 30”x20” poster to display at our open house on the last day of classes. Submit an electronic copy of the poster to stellar in PDF or PowerPoint format.

Lab hours

The lab is located in room 16-352. The lab will be open:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
11:00-7:00 13:00-9:00 10:00-9:00 10:00-9:00 11:000-7:00 Appt Appt

Contact one of the instructors if you would like to schedule lab work outside of the normal opening hours. Special lab sessions and weekend hours will be announced on Stellar.

Details

The course Stellar site ([|20.345 Stellar]) has an exhaustive list of assignments and due dates.