Robert L. Jaffe is the Jane and Otto Morningstar Professor of Physics and a MacVicar Faculty Fellow. He studies elementary particle physics and quantum field theory. With Professor Washington Taylor, he developed and teaches 8.21, “The Physics of Energy,” which is part of the core curriculum of the Energy Studies Minor.
Why should a student study energy at MIT?
What better place would there be to study energy? With MIT’s combination of basic science, engineering and policy studies, we have all the essential ingredients for a coherent education in energy issues. Many faculty are enthusiastic about the subject, and the students have very broad and diverse opportunities to work with them in greater depth through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. Penetration of undergraduate research in the curriculum at MIT is as great or greater than at any other institution.
Also, MIT students take a core curriculum of math and science courses so they are uniquely prepared — at a level of depth unusual in universities — to study the basic laws governing energy. We feel it is important to let the science speak for itself, but even in science classes like Physics of Energy, students pose policy questions. They bring newspaper stories to class, and we try to show how understanding the scientific issues makes for a better and more productive discussion of policy.
How would you describe your piece of the energy puzzle?
My involvement is primarily through teaching. About five years ago, I became deeply frustrated by the ignorance of basic science that pervades public discussion of energy issues, whether it be the “hydrogen economy” or “drill, baby, drill”. I thought that a class providing MIT undergraduates with a fundamental exposure to the basic ideas underlying all energy systems might help lead to better informed public discussion. The more people who understand this subject deeply, the more possibility there will be for positive change.
We teach students the rules of the game, whether it be the laws of thermodynamics that dictate the possibilities of obtaining useful energy from systems, or the forms of radiation that are released in nuclear fission. Understanding things at a basic level allows you to do back of envelope calculations that give you a tremendous advantage in confronting engineering and policy decisions. The difference is huge between accepting a few facts about energy on faith, because you are told them, and understanding them because you have derived them.
What is special about the contributions MIT students and graduates can make in addressing energy challenges?
MIT produces a great graduates, who are enthusiastic, extremely well-informed, self-assured, willing to take risks. If we add a deep understanding of physics and its application to energy problems to all these attributes, what more could you ask for?
We look forward to people from our class going on to be policymakers as well as researchers. Policy issues are in many cases more important than fundamental research in energy. A high price on carbon, for example, would most likely do much more to solve the energy crisis than making a better battery. But good policy can’t be developed without an understanding of basic science.