Santa Clara University

General Engineering

In addition to the courses offered by the individual departments, the School of Engineering also offers courses which are interdisciplinary in nature as follows:

COURSE DESCRIPTION

ENGR 250. Introduction to Bioinformatics and Sequence Analysis
Overview of bioinformatics. Brief introduction to molecular biology including DNA, RNA, and protein. Pairwise sequence alignment. Multiple sequence alignment. Hidden Markov models and protein sequence motifs. Phylogenetic analysis. Fragment assembly. Microarray data analysis. Protein structure analysis. Genome rearrangement. DNA computing. Prerequisites: AMTH 377 or MATH 163 or equivalent; programming experience. (4 units)

ENGR 251. Molecular Biology for Engineers
Comprehensive introduction to molecular biology for the non-biologist. Study of macromolecules that are critical to understanding and manipulating living systems. Proteins. Nucleic acids, DNA, and RNA. Genes and genetic code. Transcriptions, translations, and protein synthesis. Information storage and replication in DNA. Mechanics and regulation of gene expression. Splicing. Chromosomes. The human genome project. Scientific, social, and ethical issues. (2 units)

ENGR 253. Molecular Biology for Engineers II
The science underlying biotechnology: how DNA, genes, and cells work, and how they can be studied and manipulated in fields as diverse as biomedical research, bioengineering, pharmaceutical and vaccine development, forensics, and agriculture. Laboratory experiments will focus on isolating, studying, and using DNA in a variety of contexts. The course includes a laboratory component. Prerequisite or co-requisite: ENGR 251 or equivalent. (2 units)

ENGR 260. Nanoscale Science and Technology
Overview of key elements of physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering underlying this interdisciplinary field. Bulk vs. surface properties of materials. Surface phenomena and quantum phenomena. Self-assembly and soft lithography. Nanoscale materials characterization. Carbon nanotubes, inorganic nanowires, organic molecules for electronics, biological and bio-inspired materials. Emerging applications of nanoscale materials. Prerequisite: No prerequisite except graduate standing. (2 units)

ENGR 262. Nanomaterials
Physics, chemistry, and materials science of materials in the nanoscale. Thin films, inorganic nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and quantum dots are examples covered in detail as well as state-of-the-art synthesis processes and characterization techniques for these materials as used in various stages of technology development. (Also listed as ELEN 360.) Prerequisites: ENGR 260 and ELEN 261. (2 units)

ENGR 288. Co-op Education
Integration of classroom study and practical experience in a planned program designed to give students practical work experience relating to their academic field of study and career objectives. Alternates or parallels periods of classroom study with periods of training in industry and government. Work includes an overall report on assignment activities. Additional fees required. This course does not count toward the completion of a graduate degree. P/NP grading. (2 units)

ENGR 302. Managing in the Multi-cultural Environment
Provides practical, theoretical, and experiential tools to manage a multicultural workforce. Cases from Silicon Valley engineering environments will be studied. Topics in this course will include: (1) insights to various cultures’ approaches to time, information, planning, decision making, relationships, power and change; (2) developing leadership, motivation, and participation in multicultural teams; (3) creating an environment that maximizes the benefits of diversity and retains workers from a variety of cultural backgrounds; (4) resolving conflict when there are different cultural approaches; and (5) the role of corporate culture for multicultural and global companies. (1 unit)

ENGR 303. Unmasking Gender Effects in the Engineering Workplace
Provides a foundation for managing the different worlds, the different cultural lenses and paradigms, and ultimately different competencies many women and men bring to an engineering workplace. Effective management of differences contributes to research, development, and marketing of products and processes, as well as increased advancement of both women and men. Students learn (1) how to eliminate blame and build understanding and trust; (2) how to develop tools to create your own solutions to gender issues; (3) new rationales for dealing with persistent obstructions to organizational effectiveness; and (4) how to acknowledge, adapt, and adopt for more effective communication. (1 unit)

ENGR 304. Building Global Teams
Challenges of working virtually and globally. Building global teams. Working across cultures and distance; achieving goals while managing differences. Diverse approaches to managing task, time, and hierarchy. Social interactions and decision-making. Culture’s impact on teamwork. Global leader dimensions. Trust building. Empowering self and others. Business practices in China, India, Russia, and other countries. (2 units)

ENGR 310. Engineering Ethics
Team-taught by Tim Healy from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Thomas Shanks, S.J., of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, the goal of this course is to help students develop more effective ways to work with everyday ethical dilemmas. The class discusses contemporary problems from today’s news and from the student’s experiences in their workplaces. The perspective is quite broad, ranging from classical ethics theory to recent ideas from feminist ethics. (2 units)

ENGR 330. Law, Technology, and Intellectual Property
Study of available legal provisions for establishing, receiving, preserving, and enforcing intellectual property rights in research, development, engineering, and marketing of products. Includes a study of patents, trade secrets, copyrights, mask works, trademarks, and employer-employee contracts regarding intellectual property. (2 units)

ENGR 331. Patent Law for Engineers
Study of invention, invention disclosure, patent application drafting, patent application assignment, patent application filing, patent prosecution, and foreign filing. The course includes a discussion of patent case law, patent statutory law, patent rules, and the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). ( 2 units)

ENGR 371. Space Systems Design and Engineering I
A review of the engineering principles, technical subsystems, and design processes that serve as the foundation of developing and operating spacecraft systems. This course focuses on subsystems and analyses relating to orbital mechanics, power, command and data handling, and attitude determination and control. Note: ENGR 371 and 372 may be taken in any order. (Also listed as MECH 371.) (4 units)

ENGR 372. Space Systems Design and Engineering II
A review of the engineering principles, technical subsystems, and design processes that serve as the foundation of developing and operating spacecraft systems. This course focuses on subsystems and analyses relating to mechanical, thermal, software, and sensing elements. Note: ENGR 371 and 372 may be taken in any order. (Also listed as MECH 372.) (4 units)