1.3: Energy-Relevant Systems
Master the control of energy-relevant complex systems that exhibit collective, cooperative, and/or adaptive behaviors, i.e.,
systems that cannot be described as the sum of their parts.
Other Information:
Entering this century, we find science and technology at yet another threshold: the study of simplicity will give way to the
study of “complexity” as the unifying theme. The triumphs of science in the past century, which improved our lives immeasurably,
can be described as elegant solutions to problems reduced to their ultimate simplicity. The new millennium is taking us into
the world of complexity. Here, simple structures interact to create new phenomena, assembling themselves into devices that
begin to answer questions that were, until the 21st Century, the stuff of science fiction. Understanding collective, cooperative,
and adaptive phenomena and emergent behavior takes many forms. Our strategy includes the following emphases: • Understand
interactions among individual components that lead to coherent behavior that often can be described only at higher levels
than those of the individual units. This can produce remarkably complex and yet organized behavior. • Explore electrons interacting
with each other and with the host lattice in solids that can give rise to magnetism and superconductivity. • Investigate chemical
constituents interacting in solution that can give rise to complex pattern formation and growth. • Research and learn to synthesize
and adapt the processes that underlie living systems, whereby they self-assemble their own components, self-repair as necessary,
and reproduce; explore how they sense and respond to even subtle changes in their environments.
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