Spring 2010, CRN# 28908 (Undergraduate, 3 credit hours)
CRN# 28910 (Graduate, 4 credit hours)
Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor
Time/Place: 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm, Tues/Thurs, CEB Room 218
Course Description
Magnetic resonance imaging is a non-invasive, non-destructive technology that can be used to probe optically opaque systems. By judicious design of magnetic resonance (MR) methodologies, this mode of visualization can be made sensitive to a number of phenomena including chemical composition and both coherent (velocity, acceleration) and incoherent molecular motion (diffusion, dispersion). While it is better known in the context of medical diagnosis, MR imaging has found diverse application in fields ranging from Physics to Engineering and Geology – with applications as varied as microfluidics, catalysis, materials characterization, multiphase flows, oil recovery, and drug delivery.
This course will provide the student with a grounding in the principles of NMR and MRI and their relevance to answering questions regarding structure and dynamics of matter. The course does not assume any previous knowledge of – or experience with – experimental magnetic resonance. It will build from basic principles to advanced methodologies – giving the student researcher sufficient detail to determine the applicability of MR to particular research problems and allowing the student to appreciate reports in the literature. This course will focus on the classical description wherever possible and does not require an understanding of quantum mechanics. While the examples to be discussed will be limited to non-physiological systems, the principles outlined will still be of relevance to the bio-medical scientist. The class will include hands-on experience with both a high field instrument and an earth’s field magnetic resonance imager (Magritek’s Terranova).