Sir Isaac Newton

Physics 499

Senior Thesis

...so few went to hear Him, & fewer yt understood him,
yt oftimes he did in a manner, for want of Hearers, read to ye Walls.

                —Humphrey Newton, about Sir Isaac Newton

link to course home page link to course schedule link to lecture notes link to homework assignments link to writing workshop assignments link to tools and online resources link to Ms. Particular's micro-lectures on style and usage

Writing Workshop: 2–2:45 p.m., Fridays
257 Loomis Laboratory of Physics

Lecture/Discussion 3–4:50 p.m., Fridays
322 Loomis Laboratory of Physics

Steven M. Errede
435 Loomis Laboratory of Physics, 333-0074, serrede@illinois.edu

Celia M. Elliott
215 Loomis Laboratory of Physics, 244-7725, cmelliot@illinois.edu

General Course Information

PHYS 499 Gradebook (requires authentication)

Link to PHYS 496 (Spring 2014)

Announcements

9-25-2014: Class schedule was revised again. On October 24, PHYS 496/499 alumnus Dr. Dustin Wooten will talk about careers in medical physics. After graduating from Illinois in 2008 with a bachelor's in engineering physics, Dr. Wooten earned a PhD in 2013 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His thesis research involved the development of positron emission tomography techniques to image the serotonin system. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher having a joint appointment with the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Professor Lucas Wagner, who was scheduled to speak to our class on October 24, will now present his research in computational physics on November 14.

On November 7, we will have a double-header from two members of the department's advisory board. First, Dr. Mark Zediker, a triple alumnus of Illinois (BS, engineering physics; MS and PhD, nuclear engineering) will talk about his early career at McDonnell-Douglas and his switch to serial entrepreneurialism. Then Dr. Richard Ahrenkiel, who is also a triple alumnus (bachelor's, master's, and PhD--all physics), is a world expert in photovoltaics. He will tell us about his career at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, including current NREL research and life at a national laboratory.

9-12-2014: Class schedule was revised. On September 19, Dr. Basil Tripsas, a Physics Illinois alumnus, will join us to talk about his life as a physicist on aircraft carriers and battleships. After receiving a PhD in high-energy experiment, Dr. Tripsas has spent his career in the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) for the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

The preliminary class schedule, grading rubric, and general course information have been posted. Please review them before the first class.

To get ready for this semester's class, please review "A Guide to the Terminology of Scientific Papers" and look over the materials in our "resources" section.