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

• Hi, T/R folks -- ALL of you got at least 2 colonies on your experimental mutant plates, and some of you got many more than that! Congrats. AgiStachowiak 16:19, 20 March 2013 (EDT)

• Per requests: Shannon will hold an office hour tonight (Tuesday, March 12) from 9-10 pm in the lab (or the lunchroom across from the lab).

• Pre-lab report office hours
  • Agi's OH will be on Sunday and Monday (3/10 and 3/11) from 2:30-4:30 pm, in 16-336. (I may be taking public transportation in on Sunday, and apologize in advance if I am a little late.)
  • Shannon's OH will be on Sunday afternoon (just stop by 56-389) and Monday evening 7:30-9:30pm in the lab.

• The M1D5 Reagent List has been updated with the exact name of the Qiagen kit. Also, an earlier class email defining the gull samples is now reproduced on the M1D2 Talk page. AgiStachowiak 15:11, 10 March 2013 (EDT)

• You can find old announcements here