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 2022
Recreating NASA Images Using Hubble Data: Two Populations of Stars in Messier 5, Adam N. Looper
An Inexpensive Maximum Power Point Tracking System for an Insulated Solar Electric Cooker using an Off-the-Shelf Buck Converter, Andrew A. Perez
Quantum Key Distribution Simulation using Entangled Bell States, Nayana Tiwari
Senior Projects from 2021
Plasma-Laser Wakefield Acceleration, Jonathan Babu
Direct Drive Solar Panel Control Circuit, Marcorios Bekheit
Swarming Oscillators With Time-Delayed Interactions, Nicholas S. Blum
Lorentz Violations and the Casimir Effect, Samuel G. Christensen
Insulation and Structural Support for Solar Electric Cooking, Jack J. Crofton
Rapid Warming Events in a Small Coastal Upwelling Embayment, Tatjana E. Ellis
Seasonal Controls on Nearshore Hypoxia in a Small Coastal Embayment, Stephen Alexander Huie
Quantum Computing: Resolving Myths, From Physics to Metaphysics, Jacob R. Mandel
Development of the ALICE FIT FT0-A Detector Frame in ROOT Geometry for Simulation, Jason R. Pruitt
Modeling Cherenkov Light Detection Timing for the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, Keilan Finn Ramirez
Rigid Aggregation of Inclusions Embedded in Quasi 2D Fluids, Natalie Xochitl Ryan
Lorentz Violation in Neutrino Interactions, Pranav Jayaram Seetharaman
Spatial and Temporal Variability of Circulation Patterns within a Small Coastal Embayment During an Upwelling/Relaxation Cycle, Laurent F. Siroit
The Structure Function Relationship of Disordered Networks using Young's Modulus and Floppy Modes, Melinda Grace Tajnai
Senior Projects from 2020
An Investigation of Diode Failure, Nicholas James Adams
Optimizing LLRF Parameters in the Electron-Ion Collider, William M. Bjorndahl
Characterization of BYV10X 600P Diode as an ISEC Heat Source, Liam Cox
An Overview of Lasers and Their Applications, Luis Cristian Giovanni Guerrero
Formation Pathways in Brightest Cluster Galaxies: Measuring the Distribution of Ages, Metallicities, and Hydrodynamics of Stellar Populations, Priscilla E. Holguin West
Quantum Random Walk Search and Grover's Algorithm - An Introduction and Neutral-Atom Approach, Anna Maria Houk
Using Current-Voltage Characteristics to Probe the Transport Mechanism in Carbon Nanotube Networks, Alejandro Jimenez
Evaluation of Trigger Efficiency of the ALICE FIT Detector using PYTHIA, Abdulrahman Kauther