Many of today's most exciting advances in medicine rely on polymers to get the job done. Whether is a tiny particle that delivers drugs to a tumor without targeting healthy tissue, implants that help regrow bone, muscle and nerves, or surface layers that prevent scarring and infection, cleverly designed plastics, gels, and single chains are at the forefront of medical research. This class will give you an introduction to the broad areas of research and recent advances in this crucial field.

Ever wondered why milk curdles in lemon juice? Or how meat tenderizer works? Maybe you just want to know what the difference actually is between baking soda and baking powder. Cooking brings together all sorts of chemical reactions, geared towards making something delicious! In this class, you'll learn about chemical principles that will make you a kitchen whiz! Astonish your friends with your mastery of the custard continuum, impress your parents with perfect pancakes, and convert enemies to allies with the power of confectionery. While we won't actually cook, there will be hands-on demos of molecular gastronomy, making gels, and samples to try! ALLERGY NOTE: This class will feature foods with eggs, dairy, and nuts.

Many of today's most exciting advances in medicine rely on polymers to get the job done. Whether is a tiny particle that delivers drugs to a tumor without targeting healthy tissue, implants that help regrow bone, muscle and nerves, or surface layers that prevent scarring and infection, cleverly designed plastics, gels, and single chains are at the forefront of medical research. This class will give you an introduction to the broad areas of research and recent advances in this crucial field.

Almost every thing you touch on a daily basis doesn't behave like classic solids or liquids, but rather as something in between. Things like silly putty, shampoo, Jello, paint and even your own blood are complex materials that need their own special models to predict their behavior. In this hands-on class, through a combination of demos, experiments and lecture you'll learn the basics of how scientists and engineers describe these weird materials using viscoelastic theory and rheology (the study of flows). You'll even get instructions for experiments you can do at home. Come enter the strange, fascinating world of non-ideal materials!

Popular polycarbonate plastics (aka bulletproof glass) became less favorable due to concerns about BPA, so Eastman Chemical decided to design a replacement polymer from the molecular level on up. This class will walk you through the process they went through making their Tritan plastics line, which was specially designed with a new structure that replicates or improves polycarbonate applications. The chemistry, physics, and engineering behind this new material will be covered and how they all came together to show how scientists design new materials. This is a great course to take if you're interested in being a researcher in industry, or if you're just curious!