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About Mission 2018:
Please join us for the presentation of Mission 2018's proposal for a global energy portfolio for the next fifty years. OUR ENERGY FUTURE: CARBON, NUCLEAR, ALTERNATIVES Presented by students in Mission 2018 Wednesday, Dec. 3, 7-10 pm in Stata 32-123 reception following a Q & A session If you won't be able to join us in person, you can watch a live broadcast, accessible at the following link: http://webcast.amps.ms.mit.edu/fall2014/mission2018
Solving Complex Problems (12.000) is designed to provide students the opportunity to work as part of a team that proposes solutions to a complex, or “unsolveable”, problem that requires a strongly interdisciplinary approach. Over the past seven years we have focused on large problems related to the environmental health and sustainability of the planet. These included collapse of the global fisheries, access to clean fresh water in western North America, stemming the rise of greenhouse gases, feeding nine billion people, dealing with loss of biodiversity, the scarcity and distribution of strategic metals, and water security. Common to each problem is that almost all proposed solutions will cost enormous amounts of money and thus we must prioritize! This year we will focus on a serious problem: Our Energy Future.
![]() Human population is rising and is estimated to exceed 9 billion by 2025. This in turn will drive the demand for energy and natural resources as the standard of living increases for much of the planet. Climate models are becoming increasingly sophisticated and predict that the excess greenhouse gases will cause the surface of the planet to become much warmer, ice volumes will shrink, sea-level will rise, precipitation pattern will shift, and the health of the oceans will be threatened. ![]() One way to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions is to rely much more heavily on nuclear power. While easy to discuss, the question remains, can it be done on a relatively short time-scale and can we start to replace our dependence on fossil fuels. A dramatic growth of nuclear power will require the world to come to grips with issues of nuclear security, nuclear waste, and radiation dangers when accidents occur. ![]() Terrascope:Mission 2018 is also part of the Terrascope program and the issues associated with Our Energy Future, the year-long theme of Terrascope. By enrolling in 12.000 you become part of the Terrascope program and community, even if you do not continue in the Spring. See and hear what former students are saying about the program here.Spring Field Trip:During spring break in March of 2015 we will take a field trip to explore the problems and issues associated with the Mission 2018 theme. In the past, the location has involved international travel but ultimately depends on the directions you take in class and the nature of your solution. We will keep you updated.About 12.000:"Solving Complex Problems" (12.000) is a nine-unit, Fall-semester subject designed to provide freshmen with the opportunity to work as part of an "imagineering" team to design a viable solution to a complex problem that requires an interdisciplinary approach. This year it will be known as Mission 2018 - Our Energy Future.![]() Why Mission?The Mission class offers freshman a completely different way to learn. In contrast to the core classes that rely on lectures and problem sets, Mission attempts to teach students how to think about solving complex problems. Students in Mission are independent, largely self-directed, and interactive. They learn how to build teams and develop solutions that require teamwork between scientists and engineers including economics and social sciences. Mission students will learn that many problems are just too big and complex to be solved by any one person or discipline and must involve integration. At the end of the class the students of Mission will have developed new and innovative solutions to an "unsolvable" problem and been exposed to a variety of different disciplines. Unlike any other class open to freshman, we treat you as capable science and engineering researchers from Day 1 and our expectation is for you to produce a plan that will attract the attention of people from around the world. Websites developed for past Missions still elicit questions and comments from around the world years after they were posted.History of the ClassMission, or 12.000, was offered first in Fall 2000, when the assignment (Mission 2004) was to develop a viable mission plan for the exploration of Mars with the aim of finding evidence for the present or past existence of life. The assignment for Fall 2001 (Mission 2005) was to design undersea research stations for both coral reef and abyssal environments.![]() |
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