ESD.83

[course home]

Lecturer: Professor David A. Mindell E51-194A phone: 3-0221

mindell@mit.edu

Office hours: Monday 12-1 or by appointment.

Course Meetings: Tuesday T2-5  (E51-165)

Website: web.mit.edu/ESD.83/www

1.      Seminar (20%: attendance, preparation, participation)

As we only meet once per week, and a great deal of the course is focused on discussion, attendance is mandatory at seminar sessions and sections. Bring the books with the week’s reading to class each week, as they will be referred to in discussion, and come prepared to participate in discussion.

2. Book Reviews (20%)

Students should submit a 3-5 page book review (~1000 words) of a book discussed in the course (chosen from the optional reading list). Students  will briefly present their reviews verbally to the class, and hand out written versions. Reviews should summarize the book’s main line of argument, place it within the context of its discipline or field, and make a critical assessment of the book’s success. 

3.      Class Presentations (60%, 2 presentations)

Twice during the term, students will prepare a presentation on a particular topic for the rest of the seminar – essentially you will lead the class for part of a session. Presentation #1 will be on a selected knowledge domain in the system sciences (e.g. O.R., System Engineering, etc.), and #2 will be on the applications of the systems sciences in current technology areas (e.g. manufacturing, product design, etc.).

Presentations will be 15-20 minutes, and students will lead discussion for another half hour or so. A summary and outline should be handed out to the class with the presentation, with suggestions for further reading. A written version of the presentation’s argument (4-5 pages) will be handed in.