Freshman Seminars 2023 Winter
WebReg registration begins each quarter on Monday of the 8th week of instruction. Windows open from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. For winter 2023 registration the dates are: Nov 14–Dec 2
University Studies
Enrollment in Uni Stu 3 will be restricted to freshmen until the day the 18-unit enrollment limit is lifted. After this date, enrollment in Uni Stu 3 will be open to all lower-division undergraduates.
For more information on the Freshman Seminars, please visit http://www.freshmanseminar.uci.edu or they call the Undergraduate/Undeclared Advising Office at 949-824-6987. Students may enroll in a maximum of three freshman seminars during their entire time at UCI.
| Course Name | Department | Instructor | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photography Techniques | Physics & Astronomy | Asantha Cooray | Professor | acooray@uci.edu |
| Pathophysiology of Human Vision | Ophthalmology Medical School | Don Minckler MD, MS | Recall Teacing Professor of Ophthalmology and Lab Medicine | mincklewr@hs.uci.edu |
| Drugs | Pharm Sci/SPPS | Sam Schriner | LSOE | schriner@uci.edu |
| Envisioning the Future of Healthcare: Towards a Brave New World | Radiation Oncology/ School of Medicine | Allen Chen | Professor and Chair | allenmc2@hs.uci.edu |
| Mental and Physical Well-being in College | Psychological Science | DeWayne Williams | Assistant Professor | dewaynpw@uci.edu |
| Europe: Facts and Fictions | European Languages and Studies / Humanities | Anke Biendarra | Associate Professor of European Languages and Studies | abiendar@uci.edu |
| Art + Eco Awareness | Dance - Arts | John Crawford | Professor | john.crawford@uci.edu |
| Bubbles | DPMT Civil and Environmental Engineering | Diego Rosso | Professor | bidui@uci.edu |
| Akido and Leadership | Uni Stu | Michael Dennin & Josh Gold | Division of Undergraduate Education | josh@budoaccelerator.org |
| Akido and Leadership | Uni Stu | Michael Dennin & Josh Gold | Division of Undergraduate Education | josh@budoaccelerator.org |
| Robot Motion | Uni Stu 3 Robot Motion | Solmaz S. Kia | Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | solmaz@uci.edu |
Photography Techniques
This seminar will discuss the physics of modern-day digital cameras and lenses and will discuss different photography composition techniques for portrait, landscape, and other types of photos. The seminar will also explore analysis methods including software such as Lightroom. This seminar is part technology and part creative applications. A genuine interest in photography and an access to at least an entry level DSLR is essential to get the most out of this seminar series.
Professor A. Cooray is an astrophysicist whose research is on developing space telescopes and observatories to observe the universe at infrared wavelengths. He also advised NASA as a member of the advisory council and leads a number of NASA-funded projects to analyze data and build next-generation space equipment. This seminar is mostly based on his experience as a published astrophotographer using digital cameras. The seminar will discuss modern cameras to more complicated cameras used in space for telescopes such as Hubble and James Webb.
Pathophysiology of Human Vision
A Serial discussion of Human vision evolution, anatomy, physiology and major diseases
Don Minckler MD, MS is a Recall Professor of Ophthalmology and Lab Medicine. His research interests are in the pathogenesis of optic nerve injury in Glaucoma and Glaucoma management. Dr. Minckler has received many teaching awards and has over 200 peer reviewed publications and is an author on many manuals, editorials, and textbook chapters.
Drugs
The majority of individuals in modern society will use drugs at some point in their lives. Most drugs will be taken for legitimate medical purposes, while some are used recreationally. In a very basic manner, this course will introduce students to human physiology, how drugs work and where they come from, some common health issues and the drugs used to treat them, and some well-known recreational drugs.
I’ve been a lecturer in the Pharm Sci department since 2014. I have taught a several classes including physiology (18x), physiology lab (19x), molecular pharmacology (6x), and our public speaking class (36x). I also developed several new classes for the department: H80 (drugs and society), 90 (public speaking), 120L (physiology lab), and 122L (microbiology lab). I have taught this class (Drugs) twice before and very much enjoyed the interaction with a small group of non-science majors and hope to do so again.
Envisioning the Future of Healthcare: Towards a Brave New World
Forecasting the future of healthcare is an imperfect science. As the boundaries between technology, medicine, business, public health, and policy becomes increasingly blurred, society has the responsibility to critically analyze priorities in a complex and fast-changing environment, while maintaining focus on the human element of the patient-provider experience. A basic understanding of how current trends in healthcare will potentially shape delivery models is needed to appreciate the many promises and pitfalls that lie ahead in the future.
This introductory seminar will help students develop a foundation to understand the opportunities and challenges faced by the US healthcare system as it emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic and grapples with an aging population, escalating costs, and the rapid proliferation of new scientific discoveries. The varying perspectives of relevant stakeholders in the not-for-profit and for-profit domains will be examined through real-world case analysis. Student-led, interactive discussions will explore topics that potentially impact healthcare in the future and include digital health; artificial intelligence; equity and diversity; the biotechnology industry; precision medicine and genomics; data analytics; emerging pandemic threats; and the role of government in healthcare.
Dr. Allen Chen is Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at UCI School of Medicine. He holds a Medical Degree from Yale University School of Medicine and dual Master’s in Business Administration from the UCLA-Anderson School of Management and the National University of Singapore. With over 200 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Chen is considered one of the world’s premier authorities on the multi-disciplinary management of cancer and a highly regarded physician executive. He has won multiple awards for teaching, mentoring, research, and patient care throughout his career.
Mental and Physical Well-being in College
Life in college can both be exciting and overwhelming, which can stressful. This stress, if not regulated properly, can have a negative toll on both your mental and physical health and well-being. The reverse is also true, such that your health and well-being might influence your college experience. Therefore, this seminar draws from research in the domain of Psychophysiology — or the study of the manner in which the mind and body interact — to provide you with scientific evidence linking the college experience with well-being, and vice versa. In turn, I hope that you will gain an deeper and better understanding of your own self-regulation practices and tendencies and how this can be optimized in a college setting, with subsequent benefits for psychophysiological well-being.
Dr. DeWayne Williams is an Assistant Professor of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine. With a broad interest in social health psychology, Dr. Williams’ research specifically focuses on social psychological factors and physiological mechanisms underpinning self-regulation, heath, and heath disparities found between African and European Americans.
Europe: Facts and Fictions
Throughout the centuries, Europe has existed as a myth, a geographical area, an idea and a source of identity. Thinkers from very different backgrounds have reflected upon how to define the European idea and bring peace and reconciliation to the European continent. This seminar presents exciting material dealing with the myths, facts, and fictions of historical and contemporary Europe.
I have been teaching in European Studies since 2010 and am the undergraduate program director. I regularly teach a large lecture class (introduction to Europe post 1789), and this seminar is a chance to connect with students in a smaller setting. It is also a vital opportunity to attract more majors into European Studies.
BUBBLES
Learn all about bubbles and how they are used to clean water. The class will walk you through the basics of water pollution, how bubbles are released in water, and how the oxygen inside them can clean the water once dissolved.
Diego Rosso is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Chemical Engineering and Material Science at the University of California, Irvine, where he is also Director of the Water-Energy Nexus Center. Since 2000, he has been investigating aeration systems and the water-energy-carbon nexus of water reclamation and reuse processes.
Art + Eco Awareness
As anthropogenic climate change threatens our very survival and all Earth’s lifeforms are endangered by the rapidly evolving human capacity to alter planetary ecosystems, artists are responding more strongly than ever to this escalating crisis. This seminar introduces and explores ways in which artmaking can be a force to raise awareness regarding climate change and other important ecological concerns, applying critical thinking approaches to deepen our appreciation of art in this context and foregrounding contemporary artistic practices that encompass diverse cultural perspectives to support climate justice. We recognize that environmentalism is not a new movement, and that art in relation to environmental activism has been central to indigenous cultures for thousands of years. Through viewing and discussing visual art, music, theatre, dance and other artistic forms, students are invited to develop a personal perspective on art and ecological awareness. No previous artistic experience is required.
John Crawford is an intermedia artist, performance director and systems designer. Engaging directly with the emerging technologies of our time, his work creates rich immersive environments and compelling interactive experiences through embodied interaction. His artistic projects are performed in theatres, exhibited in galleries and presented as interactive installations, featuring creative explorations of environmentalism, climate justice and community engagement that investigate how the human desire to transform our environment is unleashing destructive forces that endanger the world and everything in it, including ourselves. His work has been shown across North America and in Asia, Europe and South America, and he frequently has been a visiting artist and researcher at universities and other venues in the United States, Europe, China, Japan and India. He directs UCI’s Embodied Media Research Group, featuring a range of projects, courses and collaboratories that integrate socially engaged artmaking with emergent media and connected design.
Akido and Leadership
Designed for first-gen students, this course welcomes students into a supportive community of friends and instructors that explores leadership through the lens of the non-competitive martial art of aikido. This course will include the theory and practice of key leadership concepts including resilience, communication, decision making, and collaboration. In addition to martial arts practice and leadership development, students will engage with mentors that can boost career readiness and open new doors for professional opportunities. No prior martial arts experience required.
Akido and Leadership
Designed for first-gen students, this course welcomes students into a supportive community of friends and instructors that explores leadership through the lens of the non-competitive martial art of aikido. This course will include the theory and practice of key leadership concepts including resilience, communication, decision making, and collaboration. In addition to martial arts practice and leadership development, students will engage with mentors that can boost career readiness and open new doors for professional opportunities. No prior martial arts experience required.
Robot Motion
A robot’s ability to plan its movement without explicit human guidance is a basic prerequisite for robotic autonomy. The objective of motion planning algorithms is to enable an autonomous mobile robot to determine its movements in a cluttered environment to achieve various goals while avoiding collisions. This seminar series cover deterministic classical motion planning algorithms, including sensor-based planning, decomposition and search-based planning. The course intends to expose undergraduate students (Engineering and Computer Science) to solution approaches to problems that they may encounter in emerging technologies and disciplines such as autonomous driving and transportation, smart manufacturing, and general mechanical and aerospace robotic applications.
Solmaz S. Kia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine (UCI). She has a joint appointment with the Computer Science Department of UCI. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UCI, in 2009, and her M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from the Sharif University of Technology, Iran, in 2004 and 2001, respectively. She was a senior research engineer at SySense Inc., El Segundo, CA from Jun. 2009-Sep. 2010. She held postdoctoral positions in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the UC San Diego and UCI. She was the recipient of UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship from 2012-2014. She is also a recipient of 2017 NSF CAREER award. Dr. Kia’s main research interests, in a broad sense, include nonlinear control theory, distributed optimization/coordination/estimation, and probabilistic robotics.
Unaffiliated
DROP: The deadline to drop courses is the end of Week 2 by 5:00PM. Drops can be made in WebReg.
CHANGE: The deadline to change grade option or variable units is the end of Week 2 by 5:00PM. Changes can be made in WebReg.
ADD: The deadline to add courses is the end of Week 2 by 5:00PM. Adds can be made in WebReg.