Teaching
PHYS 152 Energy and Sustainability (sp 2023)
I am excited to have developed this new course, and hope to offer it every-other year. We focus on the fundamental concept of energy, and its role in human society. I think it’s so important for physics majors to see how their knowledge is relevant to solving current societal problems, and for non-physics majors to understand how physics can matter to them. In addition to lecture, we have vibrant discussions, small group work, and guided tours to see how these topics play out on campus. We discuss the use of energy in daily life—transportation, heating, food, and electricity; sources and storage of energy—batteries, fuels, wind, solar, and nuclear energy; environmental impacts—air, water, and climate; and assessment of sustainability. The physics underlying each of these topics is emphasized, and students learn to quantitatively analyze and clearly communicate scientific information.
PHYS 201 Oscillations and Waves (fall 2022, fall 2023)
PHYS 201L Oscillations and Waves laboratory (an introduction to electronics) (fall 2022, fall 2023)
PHYS 332 Advanced Laboratory II (spring 2024)