Research in Physics

During JanTerm, you will practice the use and development of scientific instruments with attention to precision and accuracy. You will also search online for scientific literature in physics and engineering-related areas, write a couple of article summaries on a topic of interest to you, read from the primary scientific literature and participate in discussions on current issues in research. 

During spring semester of your junior year, with the instructor's help you will select an area of physics in which you are interested in developing an independent project. You will find and read references related to that topic, and write a literature review paper on your topic. You will then develop a specific research question and write a research proposal for how you plan to answer your question. See below for examples of the topics being investigated by the current RPhys seniors. You might also carry out a short mini-project on some topic in physics (not necessarily related to the topic of your literature review and proposal).

You will be expected to participate in the summer research program at NCSSM (SRIP). For most students, the summer program is when much of the important experimentation and troubleshooting of projects occurs. 

During fall semester of your senior year, you will continue collecting data for your project, analyze your data, draw conclusions from your data and write a research paper that summarizes your entire project. You will also create oral and poster presentations of your project. You will have the opportunity to present your completed work in science competitions and at a professional conference. 

Students in this program have a very strong interest in physics, engineering, and/or computational science. Students are selected based on commitment, work ethic, dependability, skill, experience and ability to work independently. Some prior knowledge of physics is a desirable quality. 

• A Novel Study Optimizing Efficiency of a Cost-effective Magnesium Iodide Solid Electrolyte Battery with FTIR applications

• Solar Powered Electric Vehicles: Enhancing Performance using Dye Sensitized Solar panels and Comparative Analysis with Silicon Solar Panels

• Analyzing Proton NMR Spectra to Predict Molecular Structures of Hydrogen Compounds using Machine Learning Algorithms

• Exploring Electrical Potential in Plants

• Optimizing Fusion Reactions within Fusor with Reinforcement Learning Algorithms 

• Cytotoxic Properties of Graphene Oxide in S. cerevisiae

• Quantifying the aerodynamic effect of metamorphic plane wings on commercial air travel