The primary purpose of this course is to lay the foundation for first-year graduate students and senior undergraduate students, who are interested in ultrafast optics including ultra-short laser/spectroscopy technologies and their applications in various scientific fields. Course content will include fundamental trainings for both ultrafast optics theory and practical technologies.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

College Physics/Optics, Electromagnetic field and Electrodynamics. Target Audience: first-year graduate students and senior undergraduate students

Homework for every two weeks, one final written term paper.

Evaluation details: 40% homework, 30% mid-term exam (open book), 30% final term paper on literature reading or final project.

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This introductory course will provide an overview of the history, current status, and mitigation strategies for atmospheric chemistry and the environment. The course will be comprehensive rather than specific. Students from all the academic disciplines are welcome to attend.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

Targeted audience/All undergraduate students from all disciplines. Students who are not majoring in science/engineering are welcome to attend the course. All students are assumed to have a high school–level knowledge of physics and chemistry.

Text Books: Mark Z. Jacobson, Air Pollution and Global Warming: History, Science, and Solutions 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, 1-406, 2012

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As a first exposure to the vast subject of solid-state physics, this course aims to develop the core language and elementary principles for describing the microscopic processes that govern the macroscopic phenomena in solid-state materials. We will highlight the key ideas and principles, and leave mathematical sophistication/complication to the more advanced curricula. We will work closely with perfect crystalline materials to introduce the key concepts of structure, symmetry, and wave propagation in periodic systems. The idea of band theory is naturally developed in this context to understand elementary electrodynamics and lattice dynamics, with which the basic thermodynamic and electric properties will be introduced. Building upon these fundamental concepts, selected intermediate to advanced topics of current importance will be discussed, including but not limited to: magnetism, superconductivity, semiconductors, as well as spontaneous symmetry-breaking, geometry, and topology in condensed matter physics.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

Prerequisites: Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics

Target audience: Physics Undergraduate

Text books: Solid State Physics by Neil Ashcroft and David Mermin

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The course aims to guide students through a comprehensive exploration of cell biology, focusing on the intricacies of cell structure, function, and dynamics. It will delve into the various aspects of cellular life, including the diversity of cells, cytoskeletal architecture, biomembrane functions, signaling pathways, and the regulatory mechanisms of the cell cycle, equipping students with a deep understanding of cellular principles and their practical implications in scientific research and application.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

This course is primarily designed for undergraduate students majoring in Biology. It is also suitable for any students who have an interest in the field of cell biology and wish to gain a foundational understanding of cellular structures, functions, and biological processes.

The course materials include a variety of resources prepared by the instructors to facilitate learning, encompassing PowerPoint slides that outline key concepts and illustrate complex biological phenomena. The central text that complements the course is "Molecular Biology of the Cell" by Alberts et al., in its 7th edition, which is recommended for detailed reading to support the lectures and enhance students' understanding of cell biology.

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This course discusses the principles of genetics with application to the study of biological function at the level of molecules, cells, and multicellular organisms, including humans. The topics include: structure and function of genes, chromosomes and genomes, biological variation resulting from recombination, mutation, and selection, population genetics, use of genetic methods to analyze protein function, gene regulation and inherited disease.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

Prerequisites: Biochemistry

Reference book: Genetics: from Genes to Genomes (the sixth edition)

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This course delves into foundational concepts and recent advances in molecular biology, equipping students with a rigorous understanding of the structures, functions, and regulatory mechanisms of biological macromolecules. Through a systematic approach, it covers essential pathways from DNA to protein synthesis, including the central dogma and its multifaceted regulatory processes, as well as key experimental techniques in molecular biology. Students will acquire in-depth theoretical knowledge on DNA replication, repair, transcription, translation, and gene regulation, along with applications in biotechnology, gene editing, and human health. Emphasizing the integration of theory with experimental practice, the course aims to cultivate critical thinking, analytical problem-solving, and scientific literacy, establishing a robust foundation for careers in research, clinical sciences, and bioengineering.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

This course is suitable for all students with an interest in molecular biology, particularly those majoring in fields such as biological sciences, biotechnology, biomedicine, and related disciplines. No specific prerequisites are required.

Text Book:

Molecular Biology of the Gene, 7th Edition (James D. Watson, et al. 2013)

References:

Molecular Biology of the Cell, 7th Edition (Alberts Johnson, Lewis Raff, Roberts Walter)

Genes XII (Benjamin Lewin)

现代分子生物学，第五版 (朱玉贤，李毅，郑晓峰，郭红卫)

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Biochemistry is the study of the chemical substances and processes that occur in animals, plants and microorganisms, and of the changes they undergo during development. Biochemistry is an essential discipline, and has become the foundation for understanding all biological processes. The course aims to help students learn how to apply concept of chemistry or physics to understand core principles of Biochemistry, along with the history of biochemistry.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

Second-year undergraduate who have learned organic chemistry, analytic chemistry, fundamentals of physics and mathematics.

Text books: Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry 8^th Edition

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As modern life science research becomes ever more quantitative, the need for mathematical modeling becomes ever more important. A deeper and mechanistic understanding of complicated biological processes can only come from the understanding of complex interactions at many different scales, for instance, the molecular, the cellular, individual organisms and population levels.

In this course, through case studies, we will examine some simplified and idealized mathematical models and their underlying mathematical framework so that we learn how to construct simplified representations of complex biological processes and phenomena. We will learn how to analyze these models both qualitatively and quantitatively and interpret the results in a biological fashion by providing predictions and hypotheses that experimentalists may verify.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

Undergraduates; calculus and some familiarity with linear algebra

Text books: Dynamic Models in Biology, Stephen Ellner and John Guckenheimer, Princeton University Press (2006)

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Sequence stratigraphy is the study of depositional sequences within a geologic time framework. It is based upon the premise that through geologic time, the oceans have risen and fallen in a cyclic manner. Because of this, strata are deposited in a predictable, cyclic manner. In general, sequence stratigraphy studies the framework of genetically related stratigraphic facies geometries and their bounding surfaces.

This course, elementary sequence stratigraphy, will introduce the basic definitions and principles of sequence stratigraphy, including important surfaces (sequence boundary, maximum flooding surface, transgressive surface etc.) and systems tracts (LST, TST, HST etc.). The sequence stratigraphic framework of different depositional environment, such as fluvial, shallow marine, delta, deep water as well as carbonate platforms, will also be discussed. In addition, field work is an important part of this class. Each student is requested to measure a sediment unit and develop their own depositional model using sequence stratigraphic theory. The goal of this course is to teach how to create a sequence stratigraphic frame work by integrating core observation, seismic data, well log, as well as outcrops.  It is our hope, through this course, to improve students’ capability of synthesizing different aspects of geology and geophysics in their real work.

A big BONUS of this course is that students gain essential, industry-applicable skills. Upon completion, they are prepared to contribute to basic seismic/well interpretation workflows.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

College students and early-stage graduate students who have studied physical geology and sedimentology

Text books: Principles of Sequence Stratigraphy, Second Edition, 2022, Octavian Catuneanu, ISBN: 9780444533531, Elsevier

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This course will introduce fundamentals knowledge of materials science and engineering and focus on the structure, property and process of representative materials such as metals, ceramics, semiconductors, and cutting-edge novel materials and new technologies related to materials science. Major topics are: atomic/molecular structure and chemical bonds in metals and ceramics; crystals and quasicrystals; defects, deformation, strengthening and failure mechanisms in solids; mechanical and electronic properties in materials; nanomaterials; composites; new energy materials; structural analysis of materials; recent research progress and developments in practical applications in the field. This course teaches students to apply professional English skills to describe and understand topics related to materials science.

https://www.oir.pku.edu.cn/goc/index.htm

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Text books: Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering, Fifth edition, William D. Callister, Jr. ISBN 978-7-5025-4178-1, 2002.12

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