Philippe Cluzel (Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology)
First-Year Seminar 51N | 4 Credits (Spring 2025) | CANVAS SITE
Thursday, 12:45 PM – 2:45 PM
This is an exploratory seminar that draws concepts from many different fields ranging from music to evolution, machine learning, physics, biology, wood carving, and neuro-aesthetics. The goal of the seminar is to discuss the different concepts needed to understand the design of a violin and to propose new methods and technology to improve the quality of the sound it produces. Students will spend most of their time developing hands-on experiments whose final goal will be to transform low-cost violins into beautiful-sounding instruments using the ideas developed through the readings.
Recommended Preparation: Students are not expected to know any of the concepts and tools used in class, but in view of the highly interdisciplinary nature of the project, the ideal class would comprise individuals with a strong interest in either architecture, computer science, physics, biology, music, or an affinity with hand tools and tinkering. There will be no cost to students for materials