The Molecular Kitchen
Instructor: Roland Faller, Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, College of Engineering
Description: Obviously everybody has to eat and almost all food is processed before we eat it, it is cooked, baked, fermented, or changed in any other way. But very few people realize what actually happens during these every day activities in our kitchen. This freshman seminar wants to introduce simple key concepts of chemistry, physics, and biology based on every day examples from our kitchen experiences. We will talk about the changes in a piece of meat when it is cooked, broiled, or grilled and why these different techniques lead to different results. Also simple biological concepts are addressed through fermentation of sugar to alcohol as well as in the production of cheeses. Through the connection of the experience of the audience with their own kitchen to modern molecular sciences the students get an easy access to key concepts of the natural sciences like phase transitions, network formation, solvation, or chemical reactions. We will also talk about actual recipes the students can try out at home. The class bases on a few popular science books on science and cooking.
Format:One session (one hour) per week. Students will become aware of key concepts of molecular sciences and their connection to things happening every day in every kitchen. There will be weekly sessions reading the material distributed in class. Students are expected to write a term paper about one relevant topic (i.e. description of a process in food preparation) of their choice, the level of detail would be so that the interested layman will understand it. Grading: Grading will be 2/3 on the term paper and 1/3 on general participation, P/NP grading.
About the Instructor: Professor Roland Faller is a member of the faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering and materials Science. His research interests include molecule based computer simulations of polymers, biomembranes and glasses. Current projects include studies of polymer mixtures and the local structure in biomembranes. He currently teaches courses in thermodynamics and an introduction to molecular modeling.