- Organic Solar Cells - Theory and Practice
The polymer solar cell was envisioned many years ago as a low cost flexible PV technology made using fast printing processes, simple machinery and abundant materials. At the turn of the millennium there was a lot of hope that the vision would become reality and this spawned a massive surge in the scientific literature with ever increasing performance and marvels of processability, yet the polymer solar cell remained elusive and the few examples of available OPV have all been far from representing the vision and promises in terms of cost, abundance and fast processing.
- Nanotechnology and Nanosensors
Nanotechnology and nanosensors are broad, interdisciplinary areas that encompass (bio)chemistry, physics, biology, materials science, electrical engineering and more. The present course will provide a survey on some of the fundamental principles behind nanotechnology and nanomaterials and their vital role in novel sensing properties and applications. The course will discuss interesting interdisciplinary scientific and engineering knowledge at the nanoscale to understand fundamental physical differences at the nanosensors. By the end of the course, students will understand the fabrication, characterization, and manipulation of nanomaterials, nanosensors, and how they can be exploited for new applications. Also, students will apply their knowledge of nanotechnology and nanosensors to a topic of personal interest in this course.
2. Entrepreneurship Courses [3 months]- Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship.
This course assists aspiring entrepreneurs in developing great ideas into great companies. With strong economies presenting rich opportunities for new venture creation, and challenging economic times presenting the necessity for many to make their own job, the need to develop the skills to develop and act on innovative business opportunities is increasingly vital.
Using proven content, methods, and models for new venture opportunity assessment and analysis, students will learn how to identify and analyze entrepreneurial opportunities. Value propositions, customer segments, strategic alliances, and business modeling are core elements taught in the course. The initial steps to creating a business plan, and raising financial capital to launch the firm, are examined as well.
- New Venture Finance: Startup Funding for Entrepreneurs
This course is for aspiring or active entrepreneurs who wants to understand how to secure funding for their company. Examine the many financing options available to get your new venture funded. Learn the basics of finance, valuations, dilution and non-dilutive funding sources. Understand capital structure for new ventures, term sheets and how to negotiate them, and the differences between early-stage versus later-stage financing. Develop an understanding of how to develop winning investor pitches, who and when to pitch, how to avoid common mistakes that limit the effectiveness of the pitch, and how to ‘get to the close’.
Key questions answered within the course include:
- When to raise outside capital?
- What kind of investors invest by stage and where to find them?
- What are the myriad of fundraising options?
- What are the key components of the term sheet?
- How to perform company valuations?
- How to pitch to investors?
- What techniques help the entrepreneur ‘get to the close’?
- Innovation for Entrepreneurs: From Idea to Marketplace
We establish a framework for examining the innovation process, and quickly transition into exploring how to successfully bring innovations to market. Key questions answered within the course include:
- What are the key indicators of innovation opportunities?
- What steps are critical for entrepreneurs to bring innovations to the marketplace?
- What innovation strategies are valuable for new ventures to establish and maintain a competitive advantage?
- Entrepreneurship Development Programme
- Foundations of Business Strategy
In this course, we will explore the underlying theory and frameworks that provide the foundations of a successful business strategy. We will develop your ability to think strategically by providing you the tools for conducting a strategic analysis. Strategic analysis is critical for analyzing the competitive context in which an organization operates and for making reasoned and reasonable recommendations for how that organization should position itself and what actions it should take to maximize value creation. Aspiring managers, entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, analysts, and consultants all may find value in mastering these fundamentals.
3. FEA/FEM/CAD/CNC [3 months]- Applications in Engineering Mechanics
This course applies principles learned in my course “Introduction to Engineering Mechanics” to analyze real world engineering structures. You will need to have mastered the engineering fundamentals from that class in order to be successful in this course offering. This course addresses the modeling and analysis of static equilibrium problems with an emphasis on real world engineering systems and problem solving.
- FEA
- CAD
- CNC
- Matlab
- LabView
- Introduction to Electronics
This course is a basic overview of electronic components and their common uses. It covers diodes, transistors, and op amps. Laboratory demonstrations are given to reinforce the concepts learned from the lectures and homework. The course is targeted at people with a scientific or technical background who are not electrical or computer engineers. The coverage is not as deep as an electronics course aimed at electrical or computer engineers. There are a number of physical applications demonstrated in this course that serve to motivate this topic to a wider audience.
- Introduction to Power Electronics
The course is an introduction to switched-mode power converters. It provides a basic knowledge of circuitry for the control and conversion of electrical power with high efficiency. These converters can change and regulate the voltage, current, or power; dc-dc converters, ac-dc rectifiers, dc-ac inverters, and ac-ac cycloconverters are in common use. Applications include electronic power supplies, aerospace and vehicular power systems, and renewable energy systems.
- MOS Transistors
Nanoelectronic devices are an integral part of our life, including the billion-plus transistors in every smartphone, each of which has an active region that is only a few hundred atoms in length.
Fundamentals of Nanoelectronics – Basic Concepts, is a unique course developed at Purdue designed to convey the new concepts that have emerged since 1985, which constitute the fundamentals of nanoelectronics and mesoscopic physics.
Even with NO prior background in quantum mechanics, you should learn about cutting-edge developments and concepts that will prepare you for research in nanoelectronics.
Indeed we hope you will be excited to join the field and help invent the new devices that will shape the electronics of this century and meet its challenges.
5. Advanced Spectroscopy [3 months]- NMR/IR/Raman/UV
- DSC/TGA
- High Resolution Electron Microscopy
- High Resolution Optical Microscopy.
- Nanometrology Tools
