AI Ain’t Magic – Karishma Sekhon Edgar FULL
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a captivating field that continues to evolve and transform our world. From self-driving cars to virtual assistants, it is making a significant impact in various aspects of our lives. But, what truly is AI, and what fuels the widespread enthusiasm surrounding it? This two-week course aims to illuminate these questions. Our journey begins with exploring the historical foundations of AI and progresses to a comprehensive understanding of its underlying mechanisms. The first week will be dedicated to gaining a solid foundation in Neural Networks (NN), a fundamental AI architecture. We’ll learn how NNs encode data, make predictions, and are trained. Furthermore, we will contrast AI with natural intelligence, examining the intricacies of both through examples ranging from simple organisms (slime molds!) to the intricacies of the human brain. After acquiring a robust grasp of Neural Networks and model training, the second week will focus on advanced AI architectures and their diverse applications. We’ll delve into the intricacies of renowned AI models like DALLE 2 and ChatGPT4, discussing their innovations and potential implications. Additionally, we will address ethical and copyright issues concerning AI and emphasize responsible uses of the technology. By the end of this course, you will walk away with a nuanced understanding of AI, as well as an appreciation for the fact that “AI ain’t magic” – it is meticulously designed models engineered to accomplish complex learning tasks.
Biophysics: From Physics through Biology to Medicine – Ari Gafni FULL
From its humble beginning in the early 19th century in explaining the mechanics of steam engines, the branch of physics called thermodynamics evolved to provide a foundation on which the scientific discipline called biophysics was built. Current biophysicists use a variety of concepts and tools from physics chemistry and biology to address important problems in basic, applied, and medical sciences. In this course we will discover how biophysicists approach scientific problems, what tools they use in their research, and highlight several interesting areas of current research. The lectures will begin by reviewing the rules of thermodynamics in a clear and intuitive way, including demonstrations and lab experiments. We will then move to discuss the intriguing and complicated question of how a protein molecule, initially produced as a long linear chain of amino acids devoid of biological activity, undergoes metamorphosis into a precisely folded structure that is perfectly designed to fulfill its specific function. This question, called the protein folding problem, has been studied by both theoretical and experimental approaches and therefore serves as an excellent introduction into biophysics. Using hemoglobin as our protein example, we will explore its biological function in transporting oxygen from the lungs to tissues and discuss how it performs this task with great efficiency. We will learn how hemoglobin’s structure was solved and how this knowledge has been used to explain in detail its mechanism of function. Finally, we will see how using purely biophysical approaches led to the discovery of the molecular origin of the devastating disease sickle cell disease, a disease that involves an aberrantly folded hemoglobin molecule. This discovery led to the development of a therapeutic approach to this disease. We will end by discussing several other protein folding diseases where research to explain their molecular origin is still at the forefront of biophysics.
Climbing the Distance Ladder to the Big Bang: How Astronomers Survey the Universe – Erik Peterson FULL
The furthest objects that astronomers can observe are so distant that their light set out when the Universe was only 800 million years old; the light from these objects has been traveling to us for about 13 billion years. Even the Sun’s neighborhood – the local part of our Galaxy, where astronomers have successfully searched for planets around other stars – extends to hundreds of light years. How do we measure the distance to such remote objects? Certainly not in a single step! Astronomers construct the so-called “Distance Ladder,” finding the distance to nearby objects, thus enabling those bodies to be understood and used as probes of yet more distant regions. This class will explore the steps in this ladder, using lectures, discussions, field trips, and demonstrations. Students will learn basic computer programming, culminating in a project to model the motion of massive bodies interacting gravitationally. We will go to a nearby “mountain” near Ann Arbor to do night-time observing, guided by members of a local amateur astronomers’ club. We will cover concepts involving space, time, and matter that go far beyond the distance ladder, and involve some of the most fascinating mysteries in cosmology and astrophysics: What is it like inside a black hole? What is the Dark Matter? What is the Dark Energy that makes the Universe expand faster and faster? Is there other life in the Universe? The class is recommended for students with solid high-school mathematics background, including some exposure to vectors.
Digital Media with Python – Katie Waddle FULL
Calling all artists, musicians, filmmakers, and programmers! In this course we will learn how to use code to manipulate and create text, images, sound, and video. How does a computer know what a photo is anyway? Or a sound? We’ll learn about how computers store the digital information of media, and then learn how to change it, adding cool effects, weird distortions, and wild beauty. We’ll talk about how human perception has shaped digital media design. You’ll work on several different creative projects in just two weeks, ultimately coding your own (very short) film. Along the way, you’ll pick up the basics of the Python programming language, one of the most common programming languages used in industry. This class is perfect for someone new to programming, or someone who knows a little programming and is interested in getting creative.
Dissecting Life: Human Anatomy and Physiology – Mary Orczykowski FULL
What are the systems of the human body and how do they work together to allow us to exist in the world? How can unique adaptations in animals teach us more about ourselves? In Dissecting Life, students will work together to learn the complexities and wonders of the human body through comparative anatomy dissections, observation of anatomy in action, case discussions, and studying plastinated and osteological anatomical donors within the University of Michigan Medical School’s Gross Anatomy Laboratories. Through this course, students will learn gross anatomy in detail and gain a basic understanding of physiology and histology as a foundation to study form and function.
Graph Theory – Doug Shaw FULL
Ignore your previous knowledge of algebra, geometry, and even arithmetic! Start fresh with a simple concept: Take a collection of points, called vertices, and connect some of them with lines called edges. It doesn’t matter where you draw the vertices or how you draw the lines – all that matters is that two vertices are either related, or not. We call that a “graph” and you’ve taken the first step on the Graph Theory road! Graphs turn up in physics, biology, computer science, communications networks, linguistics, chemistry, sociology, mathematics- you name it! In this course we will discuss properties that graphs may or may not have, hunt for types of graphs that may or may not exist, learn about the silliest theorem in mathematics, and the most depressing theorem in mathematics, learn how to come up with good algorithms, model reality, and construct some mathematical proofs. We will go over fundamental results in the field, and also some results that were only proved in the last year or so! And, of course, we will present plenty of currently unsolved problems for you to solve and publish!
Hex and the 4 Cs – Stephen DeBacker FULL
After a very long night of homework, you finally finish your math assignment. While double-checking your work, you realize that you have done problems from page 221, not page 212 as your teacher requested. In disgust, you rip the paper out of your notebook, wad it up, and toss it back down on your notebook. Too frustrated to begin your assignment anew, your mind begins to wander. You wonder: Is there a point in the wadded up paper that lies exactly above the location from which it started? After you pour your parent’s morning cup of Joe, the coffee comes to rest while you sleepily (because of the whole homework thing) search in the fridge for the cream. After adding and stirring the cream into the cup, you watch the pretty patterns made by the swirling coffee and cream as the contents come to rest. You wonder: Is there a point in the coffee that lies at the same point both before and after the cream was stirred in? We shall use mathematics to model and answer the above questions. Initially, the above questions will motivate our study of four fundamental concepts in mathematics, all of which begin with the letter C: continuity (what sorts of wadding/stirring are allowed), completeness (what if our paper/coffee has “gaps”), compactness, and connectedness. Interestingly, these are also the concepts one needs in order to rigorously understand why Calculus works. Our modeling will lead us to the Brouwer fixed-point theorem; a very nice topological result. To show that the Brouwer fixed-point theorem is true, we shall also learn about the game of Hex. The game of Hex is an easy to describe board game for two players (Google “Hex game” to find a description). The game has many interesting features. For example: one of the two players must win, the first player to move should (theoretically) win, and nobody knows a strategy to guarantee that the first player wins. We will explore the mathematics required to understand why every game of Hex has a winner. Finally, we shall stitch all of the above together by showing that the fact that there are no ties in Hex implies that there is a point in your parent’s cup of Joe which lies at the same point both before and after the cream was stirred in.
Investigating Environmental Issues Through Fieldwork and Laboratory Experiments – Jenna Munson FULL
Climate change and biodiversity loss are the two most significant environmental issues facing the planet today. These topics are not only relevant to environmental scientists – businesses, financial companies, and governmental agencies are increasingly looking to hire people with an understanding of environmental issues. We hear in the news that climate change is causing extreme floods, droughts, and stronger hurricanes, and that there are imminent threats to biodiversity, like the possible extinction of the monarch butterfly. Sometimes these issues can be overwhelming and hard to understand when they are happening thousands of miles away. Students will gain a deeper understanding of climate change and biodiversity loss through local explorations. We will conduct research on the Huron River, in University of Michigan’s Arboretum, and other significant environmental sites around Ann Arbor. Our time will be spent asking “what kind of changes to the environment do we see locally due to climate change and what has caused biodiversity loss?” Students will also learn how to analyze and interpret their data using Google Sheets and ArcGIS. By the end of the course, students will have a better understanding of climate change and biodiversity loss, and be introduced to software programs that they will use in college.
Neuroimaging: Seeing the Brain in Action – Molly Simmonite FULL
Have you ever wondered how thoughts, emotions, and memories are represented in the brain? This course explores how scientists use cutting-edge neuroimaging technology to unravel the mysteries of the mind. You’ll dive deep into techniques such as MRI, fMRI, and EEG, learning how they reveal the inner workings of the brain. Through hands-on activities, interactive demonstrations, and real-world case studies, you’ll discover how neuroimaging is used to study everything from learning and memory to emotions and decision-making. Get ready to explore the challenges of brain research, analyze real brain scans, and even design your own neuroimaging experiments. You’ll also explore the ethical considerations of neuroimaging and its impact on society and create a scientific poster that you’ll present at a mini neuroimaging conference. Embark on an exciting journey into the human brain!
StoryMaps and Stone Maps: Exploring the Processes that Shape Michigan and Our World – Michela Arnaboldi & Sydney Gable FULL
As you explore the University of Michigan campus and Ann Arbor, you will find giant rock after giant rock scattered throughout the area. How did they get there? What kind of rocks are they? How are these boulders found far away from the mountains where they formed? In this hands-on course we will ‘dig’ into the geologic history of North America and use these boulders to reconstruct the story of ancient Michigan. You’ll become a geologic detective: examining specimens from the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, exploring museum and library exhibits, and taking short walks around Ann Arbor as you get up-close and personal with nature’s ancient storytellers. Along the way, we will take a deep dive into the incredible and dynamic processes that shape the Earth globally as well as in our own backyards. Through lectures, tours, outdoor fieldwork, and hands on activities, we will reconstruct major geologic events including how the North American continent has moved and changed throughout Earth’s history, secrets hidden beneath lakebeds, natural disasters that impact the Earth in the present and in the past, and how water, weather, glaciers, and wind sculpt landscapes into what we see today. Throughout the course, you and your team will design your very own interactive digital field guide, transforming scientific exploration into a visually compelling StoryMap for the whole community. You’ll weave geological facts, historical context, and pictures into an engaging narrative—no prior geology experience needed, just curiosity and a sense of adventure. By the end of the course, students will see the Earth through the eyes of a geoscientist, and maybe even start to imagine the next great natural discovery waiting to be made!
