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 2013
Time Variation of the Broad Hβ and Hα Emission Lines in Active Galactic Nuclei, Bryan R. Scott
Determining the Location of the Coronal Line Region within Local Active Galactic Nuclei using [Fe VII] Emission Line Properties, Charles Grant Showley
Viscosity Dependence of Faraday Wave Formation Thresholds, Lisa Michelle Slaughter
An Investigation into Dual-Axis Solar Tracking, Daniel Spaizman
Measuring the Refractive Index of Infrared Materials by Dual-Wavelength Fabry-Perot Interferometry, Griffin Taylor
Application of Phase Unwrapping to Digital Holographic Microscopy, Sara Taylor
Dynamics of the Fitzhugh-Nagumo Neuron Model, Zechariah Thurman
Selecting Island Pixels With a Likelihood Ratio, Jordan Tweddale
Tilt Angle and Birefringence of Smectic Liquid Crystal Materials, Taylor Van Winkle
Senior Projects from 2012
Optimization of the VERITAS Orbit-Mode Tracking Pattern, Joshua Allen
P3HT:PCPDTBT:PCBM Multi- polymer single layer solar cells, Ted Andreas
Variability Studies of Multi-Wavelength Data from gamma-ray Blazars Mrk 421 and Mrk 501, Brandon Becker
Analysis of Cornell Electron-Positron Storage Ring Test Accelerator's Double Slit Visual Beam Size Monitor, Robert Campbell
Building and Characterization of Laser Diodes as Well as System Design of a Dual Wavelength Fabry-Perot Interferometer, Nicholas Czapla
How to Build a Nixie Clock, Shepherd Darquea
Determining Stellar Velocity Dispersion in Active Galaxies: Is the [OIII] Width a Valid Surrogate?, Kelsi Flatland
Nuclear Waste Policy Act: Where We've Been and Where We're Headed, Kevin Flournoy
The Quantum Mechanics of Supersymmetry, Joshua Gearhart
Gaussian Beam Steering on a Target Plane via High Speed Orthogonal Mirror-mounted Galvanometers, Keith Gresiak
Digital Holography and Applications in Microscopic Interferometry, Cody Jenkins
Estimates of the density contrast at Earth’s inner-core boundary beneath central Mexico, Wade Kelley
The Double Pendulum: Construction and Exploration, Benjamin J. Knudson
Investigation of Optical Dipole Traps for Trapping Neutral Atoms for Quantum Computing, Danielle May
Aspects of General Relativity in 1+1 Dimensions, Richard D. Mellinger Jr
Building an Alpha Spectrometer for the CUORE Collaboration, David J. Miller