Undergraduate Courses 2017-18

The world's per-capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shows four distinct growth rate periods - the Agrarian Age, the Industrial Age, the Information Age, and the Bioterial Age - with the rate increasing dramatically with each succeeding period. The latest three growth rates were incubated by scientific discoveries. Students will learn about these scientific discoveries and the associated technological developments responsible for these economic growth rates. A highly interactive format will be followed - a) short introduction of the topics, b) reading and gathering of resource materials by students, c) small group discussions, d) small group projects, e) write up of daily activities to be included in the individual portfolio, and f) oral or poster presentations. Each small group will comprise of members from different countries or regions.

Game theory is a fascinating subject with applications in many areas. It is an excellent topic to expose students to the power of mathematical reasoning. This course will give students a quick survey on many important topics in game theory such as combinatorial games, games in extensive form, games in strategic form, games in coalition form, Kuhn tree, information sets, backward induction, 2-person zero-sum games, mixed strategies, Nash Equilibrium, repeated Prisoner's Dilemma, and more.

Hands-on experience is essential in Biotechnology because it is based heavily on experimental processes. Hence, students will be provided with lectures in preparation to undertake hands-on experiments in the HKUST teaching laboratory. Three sets of up-to-date experiments on microbial techniques used in biotechnological research will be introduced to students, who will be asked to perform the experiments individually and independently, and submit written reports on their practical work performed in the laboratory. Enrolment requires the approval of the course instructor.

This course introduces students to the concepts behind: 1) interactions among the sun, the earth, and human energy consumption that lead to global warming; 2) the evidence supporting anthropogenic causes of global warming; 3) contrarian arguments against global warming; 4) profiles of human energy consumption and implications of changes of those profiles; 5) physical, economic, and political risks of global warming; 6) mitigation of adverse impacts of global warming; 7) changes in public policy required to limit and possibly stop global warming; 8) technological solutions and innovations that complement those public-policy changes; and 9) what all of the above means for China.

In this course, students will journey through some important conservation laws in classical and modern science, and appreciate the importance of conservation of physical quantities. The class will be carried out through interactive lectures with demonstrations and videos, and hands-on activities or laboratory. The conservation of electric charge, mass, energy, momentum and angular momentum will be covered. Some topics in modern science including relativity, atomic and quantum physics, and astrophysics will also be introduced. The relationship of conservation laws with the universe and human being will also be discussed.

Knowledge is the basis for understanding, but learning to think critically may just be as important in today's society, where science and ethics often clash. This course uses the Socratic Method to discuss current newspaper topics and environmental and biotechnological issues. Students will critically argue for a particular viewpoint while weighing counter arguments. Finally, students will create a persuasive report and present their findings.

More and more organizational and societal problems in the modern world will need to be solved by teams of people who bring with them different expertise, perspectives, and experiences. Having people of such diverse backgrounds together, however, does not automatically lead to effective teamwork. This course will discuss the knowledge, skill, and attitude that one must develop in order to contribute productively as a team member. Special emphasis will be put on raising students' inter-cultural sensitivity, so as to enhance their communication and conflict resolution skills in multi-cultural teams. This course will be graded P or F.

Humans are tool-making animals. What are the relationships between humans and their technological environment? How do technology and human nature interact and change over time? How can we accommodate individuals, including personal freedom and responsibility, in an increasingly interdependent networked world? In a philosophical setting, students address issues including the nature of tools, the process of design, and the role of privacy and property in regulating technology. Students use many perspectives-cybernetics, evolutionary biology, anthropology, phenomenology, artificial intelligence, robotics, environmentalism, and political theory-to explore these topics through discussions, writing assignments, individual and group projects, and formal debates.