In answer to some mocking and hurtful questions regarding my addiction to education, here is the list of courses I audited this term. And I must say that admitting to an education addiction is the first step in recovery :D


  • Integrated Circuit Design and Construction - This is a fourth year undergraduate engineering course, focused on the design and construction of integrated circuits (or microchips in common parlance). I can't really see this ever being useful to me in a practical sense, but it is a fascinating topics.

  • Artificial Intelligence & Neural Networks - Another fourth year undergraduate / first year graduate level computer science course on artificial intelligence and neural networks. I wanted to take this course since I have a long-term goal of teaching my robots to think for themselves and to learn - and then hope they don't decide they should be the master and I their servant!

  • Fundamentals of Medical Imaging - A graduate level course that I audited online on the physics and engineering behind medical imaging. It covered topics such as CT scans and MRI methods, which I have developed a strong interest in over the last few years. This was my favorite course in the last months, and I hope that someday I can actually have a career in medical imaging or medical physics.

  • Radiation Dosimetry - Another medical physics course that I audited online, this one covers the effects and dosage of radiation on tissue in medical uses. Perhaps not quite as interesting to me as medical imaging is, but still an exciting field of study.

  • Clinical Anatomy - This was a course intended for first year medical students on human anatomy. It was an interesting series of lectures and readings, but I think I will have to take more anatomy courses if I want to remember every detail. Now I know why medical students get no sleep for the first few years!


So that is the list of courses for those who were asking. Without intending to, I seem to have focused heavily on medicine and medical physics this term. But now I find myself hoping that one day I can find a career in medical physics, since that seems to be where my interests have shifted (and since I already have a PhD in physics anyway). Only time will tell - for now it is time to start on the next set of courses ;)