Interest: Health
Interest: Health
Physics Applications – Sustainable Energy
This course explores the fundamental principles of thermodynamics, with a focus on understanding climate change and its implications for sustainable energy solutions. This interdisciplinary course delves into the intricate relationship between energy, environment, and society. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students analyze Earth's energy budget and the mechanisms driving climate change, evaluating the scientific evidence behind global warming and its consequences. They delve into various sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass energy, investigating the physics principles underlying each source and assessing their environmental impact and scalability. By examining real-world case studies, students gain insights into the practical applications of sustainable energy systems and the challenges and opportunities associated with transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Through collaborative projects and presentations, students develop critical thinking skills and propose innovative solutions to enhance energy sustainability and address the impacts of climate change on a local and global scale. Prerequisites: Chemistry Foundations.Advanced Biology – Molecular Research Techniques (Honors)
This course provides students with an opportunity to learn advanced techniques in molecular biology and their applications in biotechnology. Students delve deeply into advanced topics such as genetic engineering and synthetic biology, with a specific focus on CRISPR technology and how it can be leveraged to address real-world problems in medicine, agriculture, and more. Students travel each week to the BioBuilder learning lab at Allston Labworks for an immersive experience in which students learn the skills and tools of molecular research through an ongoing research project. Prerequisites: One Chemistry or Biology Applications course at the Honors level and with departmental permission (Biology Applications: Evolutionary Genetics highly recommended). Offered at the Honors level only.Student Directed Project – SDP
Interests:
Architecture, Business, Design, Engineering, Film, Hands On, Health, Law, Literature, Politics, Psychology, Research, Social Justice, Social Sciences, Sports
A Student-Directed Project empowers students to do an in-depth exploration of a topic of interest throughout the term.
The student designs, plans, and leads their research project in collaboration and with the guidance and support of a coach (faculty advisor). It allows students to delve deeper into their passion and to be the designer of their own learning. There is a wide range of Student-Directed Projects; they are multi-disciplinary, non-linear, and most importantly, student-created and led.
That’s what makes them so interesting.
Here are some examples of past projects:
- Creating an architectural model using 3D architectural software
- Through their eyes: Photo and interview series of veterans
- Robosub electromagnetic linear accelerator
- Acoustic pinger for Robosub
- Virtual Reality game for visually-impaired persons
- Creating a concept album
- Dispute: Landlord-tenant board game
- Multimedia journalism: Producing a podcast series
- Perplex: English and Theater Study
- Sensors and fiber optics: Building a fiber optic dress
- Haptic technologies: Force-Feedback Virtual Reality
- Applications of integrals to analytical continuation of functions
Chemistry Applications – Physical Chemistry
Interests:
Health
This interdisciplinary course explores the physical and chemical properties of matter. Students learn about the challenging fields of thermodynamics, thermal and chemical equilibrium, acids and bases, and buffers. In this course, students gain a thorough understanding of how chemical systems behave and respond to external stress through hands-on laboratory experiences and problem sets. Throughout the course, lab skills and writing are emphasized in order to practice effective scientific communication and inquiry-based design challenges.
Prerequisites: Chemistry Foundations and Biology Foundations.
Chemistry Applications – Biochemistry
Interests:
Health
Biochemistry explores the fascinating intersections of chemistry and biology. This course delves into the molecular processes and reactions necessary for life. Students first review the foundations of chemistry while focusing on the importance of carbon in living things. In this course, students explore a selection of topics ranging from determining concentration and molarity of solutions, the significance of water, and the structure and function of biological molecules as applied to food science, nutrition, and metabolism. Students do an independent research project to learn about a personal interest and how it applies to the concepts of biochemistry. Honors goes deeper into advanced concepts, prepares students for college science with higher-stakes assessments such as closed-note tests, and requires algebra to solve problem sets.
Prerequisites: Chemistry Foundations and Biology Foundations.
Social Psychology: To be is to be perceived!
Interests:
Education, Health, Identity, Psychology, Social Justice, Social Sciences, Socioeconomics, Wellness
How is our behavior influenced by our social environment? How does our perception of others affect what we do and our sense of identity? Whether we want it or not, people (others) influence how we act or behave (how we dress, what we say or don’t say, what we feel). In this social psychology course, we will aim to get a deep understanding of human behavior, especially interpersonal relationships. We will look at theories and findings in psychology and social psychology, will learn about key ideas, and explore some recent research and unanswered questions. This course will be driven by student interests, and will also include topics such as biases, attitudes, obedience, mental health, social identity, and prejudice, among others. We will try to understand how others affect who we are and how we behave, and if indeed “hell is other people.”
Honors and standard levels