Physics instruction at Cal Poly is conducted in a variety of formats by skilled professionals who focus on building an inclusive and welcoming learning community so that all students achieve proficiency. Learn by Doing is a guiding principle that permeates the physics curriculum. A major emphasis on laboratory investigations, especially at the upper division, complements students' theoretical and computational grounding. At the lower division level, several sections of courses are taught in a studio environment using materials developed on the basis of research on the learning and teaching of physics.
Modified from physics.calpoly.edu
Senior Projects from 2010
Liquid Helium Refill Shifts at the Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events, Robin L. Reil
Resistance of the Superconducting Material YBCO, Christopher Safranski
Exoplanet Transit Detection with Terrestrial Amateur Equipment: Using the Cal Poly Observatory, San Luis Obispo, Joshua Thompson
A Brief History and Research of the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A, Michelle Wilbur
Could ALICE Find the Elusive Higgs?, Tyler Williams
Analysis of the Blazar 1ES1218+30.4, Timothy Wolf
Senior Projects from 2009
Developing a B-jet Tagging Algorithm for ALICE: Lessons from CDF, Paul Chester-John Carlson
Constructing a Magneto-Optical Trap for Cold Atom Trapping, Eric S. Muckley
Contributing Efforts in the Search for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay, Laura Christine Sparks
The Greenhouse Effect: Common Misconceptions and Effective Instruction, Trevor W. Strickland
Senior Projects from 2006
Achieving Energy Efficiency in Buildings in Developing Countries, Pavel Ponomarev