Homework

Weekly homework submissions:

  • Week 1 HW: Principles and Practices

    1. First, describe a biological engineering application or tool you want to develop and why. This could be inspired by an idea for your HTGAA class project and/or something for which you are already doing in your research, or something you are just curious about. 🧬 Bio-Hybrid Fusion Blanket Research Context: I am currently a research assistant investigating Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), specifically focusing on the complex interactions between magnetic fields and 150-million-degree plasma. My work involves optimizing plasma confinement within Tokamak reactors. At these extreme temperatures, the behaviour of the plasmas is governed by a delicate balance of magnetic pressure and fluid dynamics, creating an environment that is incredibly hostile to the physical structures surrounding it.

  • Week 2 HW: DNA Design Challenge

    ⚙️ 3.1 Choose a protein I chose the ATP synthase beta subunit because it’s essentially a biological motor and connects to my broader interest in energy systems: Protons flow down their gradient across the mitochondrial membrane, almost like current moving through a circuit, and that flow physically spins part of the protein like a tiny turbine. That rotation drives changes in the beta subunits, which catalyze the formation of ATP from ADP and phosphate.

  • Week 3 HW: OpenTrons and Python

    OpenTrons, Python and Hypotrochoid Patterns 🧪 We learned how to use the Opentrons Python API to write a protocol, essentially a set of instructions that controls the robot’s pipettes. Instead of manually pipetting, we defined coordinates, volumes, and movement steps in code so the robot could deposit liquid precisely into specific wells to create a defined pattern. Also we could simulate the protocol before running it on the actual robot. This let us preview how the design would look, check for mistakes, and adjust the pattern in software first.

  • Week 4 HW: Protein Design Part 1

    🔵 1. How many molecules of amino acids do you take with a piece of 500 grams of meat? (on average an amino acid is ~100 Daltons) Protein in 500 g of meat: 100 g → 26 g protein 500 g → 130 g protein Mass of one amino acid: 1 Dalton = 1.66 × 10⁻²⁴ g Average amino acid ≈ 100 Da → 100 × 1.66 × 10⁻²⁴ = 1.66 × 10⁻²² g