Topic outline

  • General information of the course

    Welcome, everybody, to the course on Functional Soft Materials!

    This autumn, the course will be realized fully f2f with three weekly sessions: Lectures on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:15, and workshops on Wednesdays at 15:15. Please note that due to Aalto Day 1, the first lecture is already on Monday, 4th of September at 12:15 in Luentosali 1 - F175a. There is no obligatory presence on any of the sessions, but you can gain points required to passing the course by writing a learning diary after each lecture, as well as presenting your ideas in the workshops. Furthermore, the presence in the poster presentation sessions on Wednesday 11th of October is obligatory for receiving points from "poster presentation" part of the poster project. Also, to encourage everybody's participation in teaching sessions, recordings of the sessions won't be made.

    Passing the course consists of writing the learning diary, completing all the steps of a poster project as well as passing the mid-term and final exams. More information on this will follow after the first lecture.

    Looking forward to meet you all on Monday, 4th of September at 12:15!

    HERE ARE SOME KEY INFORMATIONS ABOUT THE COURSE AS A WHOLE IN THE FORM OF Q&A:

    Will there be recordings available? 

    No, we want to encourage everyone's participation during the teaching sessions and it is easier, when you know that you are not recorded.

    What if I can't make it to some of the sessions?

    There are no compulsory sessions in this course, only the mid-term and final exams require your presence, if you choose that as the course completion mode. For getting points for tasks requiring live presenting (such as presentation of the poster), you will obviously need to be there. Also, if you can't make it to these sessions, it is important to inform your group members. It is noteworthy that it is possible to pass the course without all of these points, so if you happen to fall ill, there is no need to inform the course staff.

    Is there a book that the course follows?

    No, since the course follows the latest developments of soft materials science, there is no one book that covers it all. However, if you want to follow a textbook, we recommend downloading the following: "Alexander Y Grosberg and Alexei R Khokhlov, Giant Molecules: Here, There, And Everywhere (2nd Edition), World Scientific Publishing Company". Especially Chapters #1, #2 and #4 of this book review the important concepts of soft material science. This book can be downloaded via Aalto library: ProQuest Ebook Central - Book Details

    How do I prepare for the exams?

    Familiarize yourself with the key concepts presented in the lectures, those are the ones that will be asked during the exam. Writing the learning diary regularly is the best preparation to the exam.

    Is there an alternative way to replace the exam?

    If you are not able to make it to the school on exam days or if it is in any other way your preference, you can replace the exams with an extensive course essay with the same maximum number of points than the exams. The instructions for the essay are given on the 2nd lecture week.

    How do I contact the teaching staff?

    In case your question is truly unique and not answered already here, please aim to ask it during the Wednesday workshop sessions - that is how everyone can benefit from the answer. If needed, the email address of the teaching staff is FSM2023@aalto.fi. We don't reply to personal e-mails.