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OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE

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OLLI at SOU > Catalog/Register > Science, Technology, Engineering & Math

Science, Technology, Engineering & Math   

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  • Energy, Ecology, Economics: A Biophysical Approach – Online
  • Item Number: S25STEM204
    Dates: 3/31/2025 - 5/19/2025
    Times: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
    Days: M
    Sessions: 8
    Maximum Enrollment:  299
    Building: Online
    Room: (Zoom)
    Instructor: Charles Hall
    Registration for this course is closed. 
    Do you want to understand nature better? Are you dissatisfied with contemporary academic economics? This course shows how we can understand both better using energy. It examines the world around us, including natural and human economies from an energy/biophysical perspective. Energy underlies all aspects of life, from nature to civilization to our economies. It covers what energy is; our history of understanding energy; the laws of thermodynamics; the particular role of the sun; the early Earth environment; evolution of life and the importance of green plants and adaptations forced on life in an increasingly oxygenated environment; the evolution of increasing biotic complexity; sequestering of fossil fuels; the evolution of mammals and our own species; the increased exploitation of energy by humans; the Industrial Revolution and our modern situation, including the myriad tradeoffs humans face today. The final lectures examine these issues within the context of modern economies.
 

  • MS Word for PCs: Tips and Tricks for Beginners – In-Person
  • Item Number: S25STEM312M
    Dates: 4/1/2025 - 5/20/2025
    Times: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
    Days: Tu
    Sessions: 8
    Maximum Enrollment:  11
    Building: Medford Higher Education Center
    Room: Room 118
    Instructor: Holly Campbell
    Registration for this course is closed. 

    Microsoft Word is a powerful word processing program, but most beginning users are either not familiar with or reluctant to use Word’s wide range of features. This is a hands-on class. The instructor will provide pre-typed documents, and students will provide their own laptops, curiosity and questions. Students will learn basic tips for inputting, formatting and editing Word documents. Some of the topics covered include shortcut keys, navigating the ribbons and dialog boxes, formatting paragraphs and adjusting layouts, creating and manipulating tables and using the quick access toolbar and features for editing and tracking changes. The pace of the class will be determined by the students. Students should know how to download, open and save their documents. They should be familiar with their own laptops and aware of where their documents are located/saved. Review exercises will be emailed after each class to practice what was learned in class. 

    NOTE: This class is based on Microsoft Word for PCs. Students will need to bring in their laptops preloaded with the documents they have downloaded from my emails and saved in a familiar location for easy retrieval. 

 

  • Physics for Nonphysicists: Einstein's Miracle Year – In-Person
  • Item Number: S25STEM311A
    Dates: 5/6/2025 - 6/3/2025
    Times: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
    Days: Tu
    Sessions: 5
    Maximum Enrollment:  78
    Building: Campbell Center
    Room: Room E
    Instructor: John Johnson
    Registration for this course is closed. 
    In 1905 Einstein published four papers on three subjects that all changed the future of physics. Who proved that matter is made up of atoms? Einstein. Whose theory is behind the device that keeps the automatic garage door from coming down on your foot? Einstein’s. Whose theory prevents you from driving faster than the speed of light? Einstein’s. Learn about Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect and special relativity, and how physics changed after 1905. This series of OLLI courses is designed to teach real physical principles to those without a scientific or mathematical background. Because OLLI has no members who are dummies, the course is not titled “Physics for Dummies.” The content of the course will be presented through lectures, supplemented by illustrations and animations. The instructor expects all students to interrupt often with questions.
 

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