Examines political institutions from a rational choice perspective. The now burgeoning rational choice literature on legislatures, bureaucracies, courts, and elections constitutes the chief focus. Some focus on institutions from a comparative and/or international perspective. Graduate students are expected to pursue the subject in greater depth through reading and individual research. Advanced undergrads may take subject with faculty approval. This is an applied theory course covering topics in the political economy of democratic countries. This course examines political institutions from a rational choice perspective. The now burgeoning rational choice literature on legislatures, bureaucracies, courts, and elections constitutes the chief focus. Some focus will be placed on institutions from a comparative and/or international perspective.

Lectures and small group discussions focus on ethical theory and current ethical issues in public health and health policy, including resource allocation, the use of summary measures of health, the right to health care, and conflicts between autonomy and health promotion efforts. Student evaluation based on class participation, a group project, and a paper evaluating ethical issues in the student's area of public health specialization.

A unified analytical and computational approach to nonlinear optimization problems. Unconstrained optimization methods include gradient, conjugate direction, Newton, and quasi-Newton methods. Constrained optimization methods include feasible directions, projection, interior point, and Lagrange multiplier methods. Convex analysis, Lagrangian relaxation, nondifferentiable optimization, and applications in integer programming. Comprehensive treatment of optimality conditions, Lagrange multiplier theory, and duality theory. Applications drawn from control, communications, power systems, and resource allocation problems. This is a course in the department's "Communication, Control, and Signal Processing" concentration. This course provides a unified analytical and computational approach to nonlinear optimization problems. The topics covered in this course include: unconstrained optimization methods, constrained optimization methods, convex analysis, Lagrangian relaxation, nondifferentiable optimization, and applications in integer programming. There is also a comprehensive treatment of optimality conditions, Lagrange multiplier theory, and duality theory. Throughout the course, applications are drawn from control, communications, power systems, and resource allocation problems. The materials are largely based on the textbook, Nonlinear Programming: 2nd Edition, written by Professor Dimitri Bertsekas (see http://www.athenasc.com/nonlinbook.html for more information).

Plants can extract a limited amount of resources from their environment, which can be allocated to growth either above or below ground. A species' pattern of allocation is genetically determined, but is not completely fixed. In this lab, students compare allocation strategies between plant species, and within a single species under different abiotic conditions. The inquiry-based exercise was designed for freshman in introductory or non-majors courses, and includes an opportunity for students to design experiments of their own. The general methods can be adapted to more advanced courses as well.

Assessment of current and potential energy systems, covering extraction, conversion and end-use, with emphasis on meeting regional and global energy needs in the 21st century in a sustainable manner. Examination of energy technologies in each fuel cycle stage for fossil (oil, gas, synthetic), solar, biomass, wind, hydro, nuclear, and geothermal energy types, along with storage, transmission, and conservation issues. Focus on evaluation and analysis of energy technology systems in the context of political, social, economic, and environmental goals.