There are several hundred thousand Brownfield sites across the country. The large number of sites, combined with how a majority of these properties are located in urban and historically underserved communities, dictate that redevelopment of these sites stands to be a common theme in urban planning for the foreseeable future. Students form a grounded understanding of the Brownfield lifecycle: how and why they were created, their potential role in community revitalization, and the general processes governing their redevelopment. Using case studies and guest speakers from the public, private and non-profit sectors, students develop and hone skills to effectively address the problems posed by these inactive sites.

This module is founded on two insights: the analogy between problem-solving in ethics and design methodology and the effectiveness of case analysis for practicing skills in ethical problem-solving. Students will practice using a four-stage decision-making framework developed on analogy from the software development cycle. They will also learn socio-technical system analysis and how to use this to formulate and solve ethical problems that arise in everyday engineering practice. This module has been developed to test the capacity of the EAC Toolkit to add value to engineering ethics modules and to draw together interdisciplinary teams in designing and modifying EAC modules. This module is being developed as a part of an NSF-funded project, "Collaborative Development of Ethics Across the Curriculum Resources and Sharing of Best Practices," NSF SES 0551779.

This course integrates studies of engineering sciences, reactor physics and safety assessment into nuclear power plant design. Topics include materials issues in plant design and operations, aspects of thermal design, fuel depletion and fission-product poisoning, and temperature effects on reactivity, safety considerations in regulations and operations, such as the evolution of the regulatory process, the concept of defense in depth, General Design Criteria, accident analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and risk-informed regulations.

Frameworks and Models for Technology and Policy students explore perspectives in the policy process -- agenda setting, problem definition, framing the terms of debate, formulation and analysis of options, implementation and evaluation of policy outcomes using frameworks including economics and markets, law, and business and management. Methods include cost/benefit analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and system dynamics. Exercises for Technology and Policy students include developing skills to work on the interface between technology and societal issues; simulation exercises; case studies; and group projects that illustrate issues involving multiple stakeholders with different value structures, high levels of uncertainty, multiple levels of complexity; and value trade-offs that are characteristic of engineering systems. Emphasis on negotiation, team building and group dynamics, and management of multiple actors and leadership. This course explores perspectives in the policy process - agenda setting, problem definition, framing the terms of debate, formulation and analysis of options, implementation and evaluation of policy outcomes using frameworks including economics and markets, law, and business and management. Methods include cost/benefit analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and system dynamics. Exercises include developing skills to work on the interface between technology and societal issues; simulation exercises; case studies; and group projects that illustrate issues involving multiple stakeholders with different value structures, high levels of uncertainty, multiple levels of complexity; and value trade-offs that are characteristic of engineering systems. Emphasis on negotiation, team building and group dynamics, and management of multiple actors and leadership.

Modeling and Assessment for Policy explores how scientific information and quantitative models can be used to inform policy decision-making. Students will develop an understanding of quantitative modeling techniques and their role in the policy process through case studies and interactive activities. The course addresses issues such as analysis of scientific assessment processes, uses of integrated assessment models, public perception of quantitative information, methods for dealing with uncertainties, and design choices in building policy-relevant models. Examples used in this class focus on models and information used in earth system governance.

In this class, students use data and systems knowledge to build models of complex socio-technical systems for improved system design and decision-making. Students will enhance their model-building skills, through review and extension of functions of random variables, Poisson processes, and Markov processes; move from applied probability to statistics via Chi-squared t and f tests, derived as functions of random variables; and review classical statistics, hypothesis tests, regression, correlation and causation, simple data mining techniques, and Bayesian vs. classical statistics. A class project is required.

Techniques for achieving security in multi-user computer systems and distributed computer systems. Topics: physical security; discretionary and mandatory access control; biometrics; information-flow models of security; covert channels; models for integrity; elementary cryptography; logic of authentication; electronic cash; viruses; firewalls; electronic voting; risk assessment; secure web browsers. 6.857 is an upper-level undergraduate, first-year graduate course on network and computer security. It fits within the department's Computer Systems and Architecture Engineering concentration. Topics covered include (but are not limited to) the following: Techniques for achieving security in multi-user computer systems and distributed computer systems; Cryptography: secret-key, public-key, digital signatures; Authentication and identification schemes; Intrusion detection: viruses; Formal models of computer security; Secure operating systems; Software protection; Security of electronic mail and the World Wide Web; Electronic commerce: payment protocols, electronic cash; Firewalls; and Risk assessment.

Interpretations of the concept of probability. Basic probability rules; random variables and distribution functions; functions of random variables. Applications to quality control and the reliability assessment of mechanical/electrical components, as well as simple structures and redundant systems. Elements of statistics. Bayesian methods in engineering. Methods for reliability and risk assessment of complex systems, (event-tree and fault-tree analysis, common-cause failures, human reliability models). Uncertainty propagation in complex systems (Monte Carlo methods, Latin Hypercube Sampling). Introduction to Markov models. Examples and applications from nuclear and chemical-process plants, waste repositories, and mechanical systems. Open to qualified undergraduates.

This online book uses five case studies to investigate whether environmental degradation is worse in poor and minority communities, and if these communities suffer more adverse health effects as a result. The book makes recommendations to decision makers in the areas of public health, research, and education of health professionals, and outlines health policy considerations. It is available online for free, may be printed from the site, or may be ordered as a hard copy from the site.