ENGS 162 - Analog and Probabilistic Computers: From Quantum Atom to Living Body

This course will provide a comprehensive introduction to the design and modeling of dynamical systems in both quantum atoms and in living cells via the unifying lens of analog and probabilistic computation. At the fundamental level, both quantum atoms and biological cells use analog and probabilistic circuits to compute, which will be formulated precisely and simply, and then simulated accurately on the computer. Powerful circuits in atoms and cells including those involving controllable atomic and molecular-reaction dynamics, and negative and positive feedback will be used to design and build composably complex systems in design software. Synthetic bio-molecular logarithmic analog computers and viral-immune feedback circuits will be modeled and/or simulated. Analog computers that precisely emulate atom-light or spin-magnetic field interactions, e.g., Josephson-Junction or NMR systems in quantum physics, will also be modeled and simulated.

ENGS 22 or equivalent experience in basic mathematical modeling of systems or permission from instructor.