Chair and Adviser: Dimitra Karabali (Gillet Hall, Room 131A)
Department Faculty: Distinguished Professor: Eugene Chudnovsky; Professors: Christopher C. Gerry, Dimitra Karabali; Associate Professors: Dmitry Garanin, Daniel Kabat; Senior College Laboratory Technician: Elpidio Jiménez
The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers courses designed to meet the needs of students in the programs for secondary-school teachers of natural science.
*Courses preceded by an asterisk are not expected to be offered in 2009-2011.
PHY 601: Advanced General Physics. 3 hours, 3 credits. (Intended primarily for graduate students in the teaching of science and mathematics.) A mature synthesis of basic concepts in classical and modern physics. PREREQ: One year of college physics.
PHY 602: Modern Physics. 5 hours (3, lecture; 2, lab), 4 credits. (Intended primarily for high school science and mathematics teachers, but open to other qualified graduate students.) Study of various aspects of the physics of the twentieth (and twenty-first) century. Emphasis will be on the theory of relativity and on quantum physics, including applications to technology. Relevant laboratory exercises will be performed. PREREQ: Two semesters of general physics and one semester of calculus.
*PHY 603: Selected Topics in Physics for Biology Students. 3 hours, 3 credits. (Intended primarily for graduate students in the teaching of biology and general science.) Particular emphasis will be placed on the discussion and demonstration of those basic phenomena and laws especially useful to teachers of biology and general science. PREREQ: One year of college physics.
PHY 605: Physics for Teachers. 4 credits, 5 hours (3, lecture; 2, lab). Fundamental physics concepts and related pedagogical practices. General principles, including symmetry and topology, dimensionality and phase space, determinism and chaos, quantum uncertainty and relativity, that underlie physical phenomena. Historical perspectives on physical sciences and their impact on society.
AST 601: Astronomy of Solar Systems. 5 hours (3, lecture; 2, lab), 4 credits. (Intended primarily for high school science and mathematics teachers, but open to other qualified graduate students.) Nature, origins, and evolution of the sun, planets, and components of the solar system. Laboratory experiments and observations are integrated with lectures. A research paper is required. PREREQ: One year of college physics (or permission of the instructor).
AST 602: Stellar Astronomy. 5 hours (3, lecture; 2, lab), 4 credits. (Intended primarily for high school science and mathematics teachers, but open to other qualified graduate students.) Stars, interstellar matter, and stellar systems. Pulsars and laws of motion and gravitation. Techniques of astronomical observation. Basic concepts of astrophysics. Stellar evolution; special systems, including pulsars, black holes, and galaxies. Basic cosmology. Laboratory experiments and observations are integrated with lectures. A research paper is required. PREREQ: One year of college physics (or permission of the instructor).