Duration
26h Th, 26h Pr
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The objective of the course is to study the mechanisms of innovation and research in engineering through case studies of major inventions or breakthroughs in the 20th century.
The topic of the course in 2020-2021 will be The Memristor.
The memristor was proposed as a missing electrical element by Leon Chua in 1971.
The proposal was made on purely theoretical ground. In 2008, researchers at HP declared that they had built the first memristor. The topic remains controversial, but many researchers agree that the development of memristive elements could revolutionise the technology of computing.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
Students will learn how to trace the history and the subsequent impact on innovation of an important scientific paper, as a way to understand the specificity of scientific esearch in engineering.
The outcome of the 2016-2017 edition is available on the following blog .
The outcome of the 2017-2018 edition is available on the following blog .
The outcome of the 2018-2019 edition is available on the following blog .
The outcome of the 2019-2020 edition is available on the following blog .
The outcome of the 2020-2021 edition is available on the following blog .
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, II.3, III.1, III.2, III.3, III.4, V.1, V.2, V.3, VI.1, VI.2, VI.3, VI.4, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5 of the MSc in chemical and material science engineering.
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, II.3, III.1, III.2, III.3, III.4, V.1, V.2, V.3, VI.1, VI.2, VI.3, VI.4, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5 of the MSc in electrical engineering.
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, II.3, III.1, III.2, III.3, III.4, V.1, V.2, V.3, VI.1, VI.2, VI.3, VI.4, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5 of the MSc in computer science and engineering.
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, II.3, III.1, III.2, III.3, III.4, V.1, V.2, V.3, VI.1, VI.2, VI.3, VI.4, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5 of the MSc in geological and mining engineering.
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, II.3, III.1, III.2, III.3, III.4, V.1, V.2, V.3, VI.1, VI.2, VI.3, VI.4, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5 of the MSc in engineering physics.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course is divided into four phases.
Phase 1 (week 1-2): Introduction and paper reading. Introduction to the three subthemes and papers by external speakers. Allocation of subthemes to the students.
Phase 2 (week 3-7): Individual research. Each student will choose one of the three papers, and research the history and impact on innovation of that particular paper. An individual written report will be submitted in week 7, supported by two scientific papers, one related to the history, the other one related to the impact, of the selected foundation paper.
Phase 3 (week 8) : all students participate in a week seminar where individual reports are discussed. The objective of the seminar will be to integrate the individual contributions towards the preparation of a collective report.
Phase 4 (week 9-13): students work by groups to organize the seminar material into an integrated blog presentation of the history and impact on innovation of embodied intelligence.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Second semester. Only few lectures. Several group meetings and individual or group presentations.
Recommended or required readings
The Mysterious Memristor Researchers at HP have solved the 37-year mystery of the memory resistor, the missing 4th circuit element. IEEE Spectrum, 2008.
The course will explore the history of the concept as well as its impact in recent technology.
Each student is evaluated individually on the following criteria:
- Individual research and individual written report.
- Individual contribution on the final blog group report.
- Active participation throughout the different phases of the course.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
The course will take the form of a seminar with active participation of the students throughout the semester. There will be only few ex cathedra lectures but students are required to participate in all planned activities as this is part of the evaluation. Week 8 is a particular week as it is hoped that the group can gather for five half-days, to be determined during week 1.
Contacts
Rodolphe Sepulchre
R.Sepulchre@uliege.be