Energy Courses at Harvard: 2008-09

For a complete list of energy-related courses, including some that may be offered in 2009-10 or at other institutions where Harvard students may cross-register, see the Environmental Course Guide.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Harvard Business School
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Harvard Kennedy School
Harvard Law School

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Physical Sciences 1. Chemical Bonding, Energy, and Reactivity: An
Introduction to the Physical Sciences
J. Anderson, E. Kaxiras      Spring      T, Th      11:30-1:00
Prerequisite: A few operations of calculus are developed and used. Fluency in pre-calculus secondary school mathematics is assumed. Students are expected to have AP or honors level high school chemistry, or have completed Life and Physical Sciences A (LPS A) with a satisfactory grade.
Physical Sciences 1 engages the principles of chemistry and physics within major conceptual themes that underpin critical contributions of the physical sciences to societal objectives. In particular, the concepts central to chemical bonding, kinetic theory of molecular motion, thermochemistry, kinetics, equilibria, entropy and free energy, acids and bases, electrochemistry, and nuclear chemistry will be taught in the context of (1) world energy sources, forecasts and constraints, (2) global climate change, and (3) modern materials and technology.

Science B-40. The Biology of Trees and Forests
D. Pfister      Spring      T, Th      10:00-11:30
Trees are prominent and important organisms in the ecosystem. By photosynthesis, trees convert carbon dioxide into organic molecules that are used as energy reserves and as structural components of these plants. Oxygen is also released. Trees, carbon cycling, and the greenhouse effect are intimately intertwined. This course uses trees as examples to explore several facets of plant biology as they relate to identification, growth, reproduction, physiology of transport, ecology, management, and use of plant products.

Earth and Planetary Sciences 109. Earth Resources and the Environment
J. Shaw      Spring      T, Th      10:00-11:30 and three hours of laboratory
work each week.
Prerequisite: EPS 7 or 8, or permission of the instructor.
An overview of the Earth’s energy and material resources. Following introductions to hydrocarbons, nuclear fuels, and other economically important ores, the course emphasizes methods used to exploit these resources and the environmental impacts of these operations. Topics include: coal and acid rain; petroleum, photochemical smog, and oil spills; nuclear power and radioactive hazards; alternative energies; metals and mining. Labs emphasize methods for discovering and exploiting resources, as well as environmental remediation approaches.

Earth and Planetary Sciences 208. Physics of Climate
Z. Kuang      Fall      T, Th      1:00-2:30
Prerequisite: Applied Mathematics 105b (may be taken concurrently), Physics 11a, b, or 15; or permission of the instructor.
Overview of the basic features of the climate system (global energy balance, atmospheric general circulation, ocean circulation, and climate variability) and the underlying physical processes.

Economics 1661. Environmental and Resource Economics and Policy
R. Stavins      Spring      M, W      1:00-2:30; optional review section F 1:00-2:30
Prerequisite: Social Analysis 10 or permission of instructor.
Provides a survey, from the perspective of economics, of environmental and natural resource policy. Combines lectures on conceptual and methodological topics with examinations of public policy issues. Topics include principles of environmental and resource economics, nonrenewable resources (minerals and energy), renewable resources (water, forests, land, fisheries), air pollution (stationary and mobile sources, acid rain, and global climate change), water pollution (point and nonpoint sources), waste management, and sustainable development and political aspects of environmental policy. Offered jointly with the Kennedy School as API-135.

Engineering Sciences 181. Engineering Thermodynamics
S. Ramanathan      Fall      T, Th      10:00-11:30
Prerequisite: Physics 11 or 15 and Applied Mathematics or Mathematics 21; chemistry at the level of a good secondary school course or Chemistry 5.
Introduction to engineering thermodynamics with emphasis on classical thermodynamics. Topics: zeroth law and temperature. Properties of singlecomponent gases, liquids, and solids; steam tables. Equations of state for ideal and simple nonideal substances. First law, heat and heat transfer, work, internal energy, enthalpy. Second law, entropy, free energy. Third law. Heat engines and important engineering applications such as refrigerators, power cycles. Properties and simple models of solutions. Phase and chemical equilibrium in multicomponent systems; chemical potential. Laboratory included.

Environmental Science and Public Policy 90a. Energy, Technology, and the
Environment
M. McElroy      Fall      T      1:00-4:00
The seminar will provide an account of the technologies that shape our world with a perspective on how they evolved, the benefits that ensued and the environmental challenges that arose as a consequence. Topics include prospects for renewable energy and options to minimize damage from conventional sources of energy. Specific attention is directed to challenges faced by large developing economies emphasizing the need for a cooperative approach to ensure an equable, environmentally sustainable, global future.

Environmental Science and Public Policy 90-o. The Politics of Science and
Environmental Policy
Instuctor TBA      Spring      W      2:00-5:00
The course examines how the U.S. federal government funds and uses scientific and technical research. We examine current debates on such issues as how much money should be spent on science and what kinds of science, how to keep the U.S. economically competitive, how universities and industry should interact, how energy policy should be established and implemented, and how science should be used in a variety of environmental debates.

Freshman Seminar 22j. Seeing by Spectroscopy
W. Klemperer      Spring      TBA
Explores diverse topics and areas of science in which spectroscopy-the observation of energy emitted from a radiant source-plays a leading role. Concentrates on selected topics from chemistry, physics, astronomy, and atmospheric science. Emphasizes spectroscopy as the basis for remote sensing, choosing the grand topic of looking out-astronomical observations and seeing what is in the universe. Participants also will study (Nuclear) Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a model for looking in.

Freshman Seminar 44v. Urban Environmental Health
J. Levy      Spring      TBA
In a world where half of the population now lives in urban areas, this course examines the complex environmental and health implications of urbanization, considering both beneficial and detrimental effects in developing and developed countries. Case studies include health and safety risks from traffic around the world, environmental implications of energy usage and generation patterns in the United States and China, and health risks related to substandard drinking water in mega-cities in developing countries.

Physics 125. Widely Applied Physics
J. Doyle      Spring      M, W      12:00-1:30
Prerequisite: Physics 15a, b, c, and mathematics at the level of Mathematics 21a (which may be taken concurrently). Physics 143a and 181 helpful, but not required.
Applies elementary physics to real things and practical situations. Emphasis is on developing physical intuition and the ability to do order-of-magnitude calculations. New physical concepts are introduced as necessary. Example topics: the Big Bang, stars, nuclear reactions, and searches for extra-solar planets; aerodynamics, rockets and spacecraft; materials properties; electronic noise, lasers, and the global positioning system; magnetic resonance imaging, physiology of major organs, and health risks; energy use and production; climate and global change.

Harvard Business School

BUS 1105 Half-Course: Energy
F. Reinhardt      Early Fall, 15 sessions      TBA
The course applies ideas on industry structure, competitive positioning, competitive dynamics, and corporate strategy from the basic Strategy course. It applies ideas from BGIE on the rationales for government intervention in markets and on the political factors that influence government policymakers. Students will leave the course with a broad exposure to the kinds of strategic and risk management problems that confront firms in the energy industries, with a set of analytic approaches to make sense of those problems, and with an enhanced ability to devise and implement strategies that take economic and political considerations into account. 

Harvard Graduate School of Design

6112M2: Energy, Technology and Building
C. Reinhart      Fall      W, F      10:00-11:30
This lecture course introduces students to energy and environmental issues, particularly those that must be faced by the discipline of architecture. An overview of the basic principles of energy generation and energy use will be provided, and the fundamental climatic precursors and patterns will be discussed. Building design issues in relation to basic energy needs and interior environmental requirements will be briefly outlined, and students will be exposed to the underlying complexity of developing solutions that address a wide range of local and global concerns. In addition, the technological response to interior environmental control will be contextualized within the larger framework of the scientific and sociocultural influences that shaped the building systems we currently use.

6301: Landscape Ecology
R.T.T. Forman      Fall      T, Th      8:30-10:00
Prerequisite: None, but a principles of ecology course is recommended.
This course examines the structure, functioning, and change of a mosaic of ecological systems, such as forests, wetlands, fields, corridors, and villages. Focus is on spatial patterns; flows of animals, plants, mineral nutrients, and energy among ecosystems; and ecological changes in the landscape over time.

6417: Building Performance Simulation – Energy
C. Reinhart      Fall      M      8:30-11:30
This specialized seminar will introduce students to a variety of whole building energy performance tools and methods, allowing them to carry out advanced simulation studies of passive and active climatization technologies including solar shading, natural and hybrid ventilation, and the effective use of thermal mass.

Harvard Kennedy School

IGA-104 Managing a Living Planet
W. Clark      Spring      M, W      2:40-4:00
Concerns for how human well-being can be increased in a world of finite resources have long been voiced at local and national levels. Increasingly, however, these concerns have escalated to the global stage. Transnational migration, disease pandemics, water wars, and climate change are among the most recent issues that have crowded on to high-level agendas of global governance that were previously reserved for discussions of collective security and world trade. Such high-profile concerns, however, are all symptoms of a more fundamental transformation in which nature and society have become a single complex adaptive system, increasingly tightly coupled at all scales from local to global. This course explores those interconnections. It focuses on analyzing their consequences for efforts to improve human well-being through sustainable utilization of the planet’s energy, land, water, and biotic resources. It seeks to understand how global institutions can be designed to promote such efforts.

IGA-310 Energy Policy: Technologies, Systems, and Markets
J. Holdren, H. Lee      Spring      T, Th      2:40-4:00
Energy is a critical component of every dimension of human society. It is an essential input for economic development, transportation, and agriculture, and it plays an enormous role in environmental problems and solutions, in national security issues, and in science and technology policy. The course discusses the technological, economic, and policy dimensions of the energy choices needed to meet economic and environmental goals in both the near and long term. Electricity-infrastructure policy, energy-supply and end use–efficiency options, environmental impacts, and strategic energy policies will all be covered.

Harvard Law School

LAW-35620A Energy Law
J. Rossi      Spring      M      5:00-7:00
This course will examine the legal, regulatory and market oversight of the energy sector, with an emphasis on contemporary legal and policy debates about energy sources, use, and transmission. Topics addressed will include regulation of the supply of energy, including siting of generation and transmission infrastructure; the regulation of demand and use behavior; regulatory reform in electricity and gas; sustainability and challenges presented by new energy sources such as renewable power; energy and climate change; other issues presented by major environmental regulations that apply to the energy sector; and energy and national security.