Important Links

• Research Topic Survey Due 10/7, 11pm
• Submit file containing title and abstract Available 10/8, Due 10/11 at 11pm
• "Model" Paper An example well-written paper from an earlier class.
• How to give effective talks A great resource by Michael Morrison (U of Oklahoma).


• Draft of Research Paper Due 11/22, 11pm


• Final version of Research Paper Due 12/09, 11pm (Late Submissions will not be accepted).


• Survey for seminars on 10/22 Due 11/05, 5pm
• Survey for seminars on 10/29 Due 11/05, 5pm
• Survey for seminars on 11/05 Due 11/12, 5pm
• Survey for seminars on 11/12 Due 11/19, 5pm
• Survey for seminars on 11/19 Due 11/26, 5pm
• Survey for seminars on 11/26 Due 12/03, 5pm
• Survey for seminars on 12/03 Due 12/10, 5pm

Course Structure

• Welcome to PHYS485A(Senior Honors Seminar) and PHYS494A(Seminar on Current Problems in Physics). These are supervised, independent study of topics of current interest in physics. The aim of these courses is to provide you with an opportunity to learn in depth about your chosen topic and at the same time gain experience in doing literature research, preparing a scientific presentation, and writing a scientific article. My role as instructor will be to help you choose an appropriate topic, help answer questions that come up as you research this topic, and provide feedback on the drafts of your paper and your presentation.
  
• You are expected to select a research topic in experimental or observational physics and submit a short (<0.5 page) abstract in paper form by the Oct 11. After your abstract has been approved by the instructor, you will do literature research on your topic.
• You will give one in-class oral presentation. Oral presentations should be created on the computer (e.g. in powerpoint). They will be 20 minutes long, including 7 minutes for discussion. I strongly advise you to practice beforehand and get feedback from the instructor on your draft slides.
  
• You will prepare a research paper by the end of the quarter on your chosen topic. The report can address a number of issues about the topic (i.e. be a survey) or be more specific about a particular question or experiment. The paper should contain at least 5 "normal" pages of text (excluding figures and references). Please make sure to write all the text yourself and to include a complete bibliography for your sources. You should provide a draft by Nov 22. I will give you comments on your initial draft and then reread the revised version. The paper should be submitted as a PDF file. It should be "scientific" in style, with an abstract, introduction, the body, and then a conclusion and references. The references should consist of journal articles, not websites. The final paper will be due on Dec 9. Late submissions will not be accepted.
• You are expected to participate in class discussions, and hence you'll have to attend the class. You will be expected to provide feedback on your fellow students talks via a web survey after each class.

Course Schedule

• PDF of Lecture 1 (10/01) Intro to class. Logistics.

• PDF of Lecture 2 (10/08) Logistics. Updates to grading policy and slide requirement. Preliminary Talk Schedules.

• PDF of "Model" Paper (discussed 10/08) An example well-written paper from an earlier class.

• No class on 10/15.

Date	Speaker	Talk Title
Oct 22	1. Julian Picard 2. Xiaoxu Li	Laser-Based Acceleration of Nonrelativistic Electrons at a Dielectric Structure Quantum Computing with Ion traps
Oct 29	1. Haden Lively-Cookson 2. Joe Finney 3. Margaret Stark 4. Stan Huntington 5. Askar Akhyltayev	The Search for High Temperature Superconducting Materials The Quantum Hall Effect Photon Entanglement with Quantum Dots A survey of Graphene and its uses Cold Atoms
Nov 5	1. Aaron West 2. Bryan Trinh 3. Jacob Goffin 4. Andrew Selzler 5. Yi-Chih Huang	Quantum Simulators and their Applications Spin control of nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond A survey of Quantum Computing techniques Applications of Entangled Quantum Systems A survey of Nanotechnology
Nov 12	1. Alex Vaschillo 2. Sarah Harvey 3. Kenji Doering 4. Andrew Taylor 5. Danielle Lemon 6. Joel Froehlich	Topological Insulators Statistical Physics Research in Computational Neuroscience Molecular Dynamic Analysis using Optical Tweezers Biophysics of DNA sequencing Measuring the Fine Structure Constant Measuring the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron
Nov 19	1. Gregory Prekeges 2. Kevin Huang 3. Paramveer Singh	Gravitational Waves and LIGO Survey of recent neutrino experiments Survey of the Standard Model
Nov 26	1. Kazimir Wall 2. James Johnson 3. Mackenzie Cross 4. Rylan Montgomery 5. David Rund 6. Byron Wu	Muon g-2 experiment Gravity Waves Superheavy Atoms: Confirming Element 115 Carbon Photovoltaics and their Uses Pumped Heat Energy Storage Improving Lithium ion batteries with nanotechnology
Dec 3	1. Nancy Thomas 2. Denise Schmitz 3. Taylor Fryett 4. Scott McCulloch 5. Akihisa Shimazu 6. Kyle Roth 7. Ashwin Subramanian	Predictions of Stellar Surface Gravity Large Scale structure of the Universe Progress In Fusion Power: The Stellarator Controlled Nuclear Fusion: An Outlook on High Energy Density Physics Plasma Technology: Applications in Advanced Space and Air-breathing Propulsion Discovery of the Higgs Boson: Motivations and Implications Quantum Computing
Dec 10	To be decided	To be decided

Course Grade

• Your course grade will be based on 4 criteria:
  (1) 20% Participation in class discussions (this includes 2% for timely abstract submission)
  (2) 10% on WebQ feedback on fellow-student talks
  (3) 30% on your oral presentation (this includes 3% on timely slides submission)
  (4) 40% on your final paper (this includes 4% on timely submission of draft).
• There is no final exam.
• 75% corresponds to a grade of 3.5
• A grade of 0.0 will given to anyone not completing both their paper and presentation.

Sources for possible topics.

• Physics, highlights exceptional papers from the Physical Review journals.
• Physics Today web site, the magazine of the American Physical Society, which has monthly reports on new and interesting developments.
• Science News, web site of Science, journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
• Scientific American web site.
• New Scientist web site.

Links to Physics Career Information

• UW Women in Science and Engineering
• UW Chapter of the Society of Physics Students
• American Physical Society Reports on Physics Employment, including
• The Early Careers of Physics Bachelors (pdf file)
• State-by-State listing of Companies Hiring Physics Bachelors
• American Physical Society's Scholarship for Minority Undergraduate Physics Majors .