6.933J/STS.420J The Structure of Engineering Revolutions Fall 2001 Lecturer: Professor David A. Mindell, mindell@mit.edu Course Meetings: MW 2-4 (2-105) Course Syllabus
The First Transistor, 1947

This class provides an integrated approach to engineering practice in the real world. Students research the life cycle of a major engineering project, new technology, or startup company from multiple perspectives: technical, economic, political, and cultural. Research involves interviewing inventors, reading laboratory notebooks, evaluating patents, and looking over the shoulders of engineers as they developed today’s technologies. Subject is for students who recognize that technical proficiency alone is only part of the formula for success in technology.