20.109(S13)

Welcome and Details for Spring 2013

Lecture: T/R 11-12 (4-237)
Lab: T/R 1-5 or W/F 1-5 (56-322)
People: Instructor and student web pages may be found at the linked People page.

Welcome to 20.109! For some of you this will be the first time in a research lab and for others it will not; either way, it is our goal to make this class a useful and fun introduction to experiments and techniques in biological engineering. There is not time enough to show you everything you’ll need to know if you go on to do research, but after taking this class you should feel confident and familiar with some fundamental experimental approaches and lab protocols. You will develop good habits at the bench, ones that will increase the likelihood of success in your work and ensure the health and safety of you and those around you. By the end of the semester, you should also be aware of good scientific practice, having had some experience with report writing, notebook keeping, and publicly presenting data and your ideas. All of us involved in teaching 20.109 hope you will find it a satisfying challenge and an exciting experience that has lasting value.

Orientation and Safety Material

On the first day of 20.109, you will take an interactive tour to get up to speed on the basics of working in a lab. The lab tour is linked here. You should also carefully read the general lab policy, which broadly covers dos and don'ts specific to our class.

Later in the semester, you will want to read guidelines for working in the tissue culture facility. Stay tuned!

At any time you can refer the guidelines on using personal protective equipment developed by the Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHS) at MIT: one on eye protection (PDF download) and one on wearing lab coats (PDF download).

Finally, you can learn how to best contribute to the class wiki at the linked OWW in 20.109 page.

Announcements

• FYI -- here is a link to Marilee's presentation about writing a research paper from Wed, Feb 13. Shannon Hughes 15:03, 15 February 2013 (EST)

• Hi folks -- I hope that you all found your figure assignments okay within the M1D3 protocol. I wanted to make clear that the FNT slide is to be done with your partner rather than alone, and that it does not need to be handed in at the beginning of class. You do need to have an electronic copy available during class to revise and ultimately present. AgiStachowiak 16:25, 13 February 2013 (EST)

• The first module-based quiz will now be held on M1D3 instead of M1D2, that is, on Thursday and Friday of this coming week. Both M1D1 and M1D2 material will be covered. AgiStachowiak 20:27, 9 February 2013 (EST)

• You can find old announcements here