A new course and textbook on Physical Models of Living Systems, for science and engineering undergraduates

I'll describe an intermediate-level course on ``Physical Models of Living Systems.'' The only prerequisite is first-year university physics and calculus. The course is a response to rapidly growing interest among undergraduates in a broad range of science and engineering majors. Students acquire several research skills that are often not addressed in traditional courses: \begin{itemize}\itemsep1pt \parskip0pt \parsep0pt \item Basic modeling skills \item Probabilistic modeling skills \item Data analysis methods \item Computer programming using a general-purpose platform like MATLAB or Python \item Dynamical systems, particularly feedback control. \end{itemize} These basic skills, which are relevant to nearly any field of science or engineering, are presented in the context of case studies from living systems, including: \begin{itemize}\itemsep1pt \parskip0pt \parsep0pt \item Virus dynamics \item Bacterial genetics and evolution of drug resistance \item Statistical inference \item Superresolution microscopy \item Synthetic biology \item Naturally evolved cellular circuits. \end{itemize}