6 minute read
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATH
A GLIMMER OF AN INVISIBLE COSMOS IN X-RAYS
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (R237–01)
Class limit: 50
UD OLLI Online (R237–06)
Class limit: unlimited
Monday 9–10:15 a.m.
2/5/2024–3/4/2024
Instructor: Z. Stephen Silagy
Number of class sessions: 5
Course format: Lecture
An introductory presentation on the start and evolution of X-ray astronomy, a new field that replaced the classical concepts of stellar energy productions with some new concepts. This includes rotating neutron stars and black holes.
AMAZING AIRCRAFT: LOOKING AHEAD*
UD OLLI Online (R222–06)
Tuesday 10:45 a.m.–noon 4/2/2024–4/30/2024
Instructor: Gil Kaufman
Number of class sessions: 5
Course format: Lecture
Learn about emerging technologies for aircraft of the future, including vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft replacing helicopters, unmanned commercial and military aircraft, electrically powered aircraft and hydrogen-powered aircraft. The course also covers the latest advances in space planes and spacecraft intended for travel to the moon, Mars and beyond.
ASTRONOMY 101
Trinity Faith Education Building, Lewes (R241–01)
Class limit: 40
UD OLLI Online (R241–06)
Class limit: unlimited
Wednesday 9–10:15 a.m. 2/7/2024–3/6/2024
Instructor: Jim O’Leary
Number of class sessions: 5
Course format: Lecture
Discover the cosmos from planets and moons to galaxies, black holes, dark matter and the Big Bang. This course provides a basic introduction to the cosmos and answers some key questions. What makes the sun tick? What is the fate of Earth? Why is Pluto a dwarf planet? Will we find other life in the universe?
CLIMATE RISKS: DEEP DIVE INTO CARBON CAPTURE TECHNIQUES
UD OLLI Online (R240–06)
Monday 12:45–2 p.m. 2/5/2024–3/4/2024
Instructor: William Haaf
Number of class sessions: 5 • Class limit: 290
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
The scientific consensus is overwhelming. Earth and, especially, the oceans are getting hotter. China, America, India and the EU should quickly transition to minimal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to avoid catastrophic climate impact. Construction of solar and wind technologies is progressing slowly, held back by an old electric grid and complex rules and politics. Carbon capture presents opportunities and risks. We review varied technologies and path-forward strategies.
EINSTEIN’S RELATIVITY*
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (R211–01)
Monday 12:45–2 p.m. 2/5/2024–5/6/2024
UD OLLI Online (R211–06)
Monday 12:45–2 p.m. 2/5/2024–5/6/2024
Instructor: Charles Carter
Number of class sessions: 13
Course format: Lecture, Video Based
Why should E=mc2? Does this equation only apply to atomic bombs and nuclear reactions? Can a person travel to a distant star and return home within a lifetime? Is time travel possible? What is the total energy in the universe? Potential answers to such questions are found in the special and general theories of relativity. This course explores the logic behind these theories. A minimal amount of high school algebra is used. This is a hybrid-online course: one section meets on site; one is online only. See page 3 for details.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE REVOLUTION II
UD OLLI Online: On Demand (R231–07)
Flexible—viewing is on your own schedule
Instructor: Charles Carter
Number of class sessions: 5
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
This is an updated version of the fall 2022 course. The electric vehicle (EV) landscape is rapidly evolving. There are more affordable EVs available, and the charging infrastructure is improving. The course emphasizes battery electric vehicles. Topics include the environment and EVs, the evolution of modern EVs, pros and cons of ownership, incentives and tax breaks, barriers to adoption, and evaluation of available EVs. This is a prerecorded version of R231 originally taught in fall 2023. View this class on your own schedule. Viewing link is emailed to participants prior to the semester start.
HYBRID POWER UNITS EXPLAINED
UD OLLI Online (R239–06)
Wednesday 10:45 a.m.–noon 4/3/2024–5/1/2024
Instructor: Larry Watkins
Number of class sessions: 5
Course format: Lecture, Video Based
Tech requirements: Audio and video—with monitor or screen of 12” or more
Hybrid vehicles are extremely complex machines with some different components from the familiar internal combustion vehicles and the increasingly familiar electric vehicles. This class is an attempt to explain how hybrid vehicles work, exploring the field from the first early 20th-century attempts to the latest state-of-the-art Formula One race cars.
LIGHT, SIGHT AND COLOR: HOW WE SEE THE WORLD
UD OLLI Online: On Demand (R235–07)
Flexible—viewing is on your own schedule
Instructor: Jim O’Leary
Number of class sessions: 5
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
Light provides the bulk of information we receive from the world around us. But what is light? How does light translate into sight and produce color? We explore these topics by looking at the wide range of visual systems across the animal kingdom, from eagles and owls to humans and dwellers of the deep sea to see how eye, retina and brain work to interpret light. Discover bioluminescence, what causes colorblindness, how some people see colors in music, and the future of bionic eyes. This is a prerecorded version of R235 originally taught in fall 2023. View this class on your own schedule. Viewing link is emailed to participants prior to the semester start.
MORE FUN IN FUNDAMENTAL MATH
Arsht Hall, Wilmington (R242–01)
Tuesday 9–10:15 a.m. 2/6/2024–5/7/2024
Instructor: Jon Manon
Number of class sessions: 13
Course format: Discussion, Active (Hands-on)
This is the next installment in the More Fun in FUNdamental Math course series, meant as a hop-on-hop-off opportunity. Hence, there are no prerequisites to participate. The goal of our collaborative study is to explore topics encountered in school mathematics, but to do so in a nontraditional manner! We encounter beguiling topics such as countable infinities, irrational numbers and fractal geometry.
SCIENCE OF FRESHWATER STREAMS: ECOSYSTEMS OF FLOW AND CHANGE**
UD OLLI Online (R238–06)
Tuesday 9–10:15 a.m. 2/6/2024–3/5/2024
Instructor: Jennifer Merrill
Number of class sessions: 5
Course format: Discussion, Lecture
Additional fee: Requires a $24 fee payable to the Stroud Water Research Center
A series of lectures presented by the research team of Stroud Water Research Center (Avondale, PA) shares how streams function and support the life within them. Learn about the dynamic environments in your backyard, from the banks to the bottom. How do the seasons change the habitat? Who lives there? How do we know? Why should we care? Stroud Water Research Center is a global leader in freshwater science. A visit to its field station is arranged at the conclusion of the class. Please note the additional fee mentioned above.
THERMODYNAMICS: THE LAWS THAT MOVE THE UNIVERSE**
UD OLLI Online (R236–06)
Tuesday 12:45–2 p.m. 2/6/2024–4/23/2024
Instructors: Bruce Neff, Howard Barth
Number of class sessions: 11
Course format: Discussion, Lecture, Video Based Thermodynamics (part 2) is one of the great classical subjects of modern science. This course describes how energy is transferred between materials and how they respond to these changes. Thermodynamics is fundamental for all physical and biological processes, chemical transformations, magnetic and electrical work and our expanding universe. The class follows the Great Course Thermodynamics by Professor Jeffrey Grossman of MIT. Related topics of interest are included.
BENEATH THE BLADES: HELICOPTER FLIGHT SECRETS
Trinity Faith Education Building, Lewes (R234–01)
Class limit: 40
UD OLLI Online (R234–06)
Class limit: unlimited
Tuesday 10:45 a.m.–noon 2/6/2024–3/5/2024
Instructor: Pat O’Reilley
Number of class sessions: 5
Course format: Lecture
It is said bumblebees and helicopters can’t fly. They do, but they don’t glide, which is why there are no parachutes in helicopters. This course explains the fundamentals of helicopter flight aerodynamics and propulsion. We also discuss how to fly a helicopter to the extent it is possible in a classroom, including how to survive engine failure with no parachute.
