Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2023
Volume 68, Number 3
Las Vegas, Nevada (March 5-10)
Virtual (March 20-22); Time Zone: Pacific Time
Session S34: Wolff-Reichert Award - Undergraduate Labs and ResearchEducation Focus
|
Hide Abstracts |
Sponsoring Units: FED Chair: Susan Blessing, Florida State University Room: Room 226/227 |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 8:00AM - 8:36AM |
S34.00001: Wolff-Reichert Award: Sustainable laboratory experiences spanning the physics curriculum to addressdiverse students and career preparation Invited Speaker: Laura Clarke Physics careers require diverse skills: working on a team, design and testing, technical writing, and project management. Traditional physics undergraduate programs focus on a single element in this broad ability set, content knowledge, with potentially detrimental consequences. Students with strong professional skills and an interest in real world applications, who as a result would be excellent physicists, sometimes leave the physics community. Students who "fit well" with physics undergraduate education may struggle in transitioning to jobs due to the disconnect between their expectations/training and workplace reality. Since 2012, NC State Physics has experimented with adding short (1-2 week) career-focused, hands-on activities occurring frequently in freshman-junior years and culminating in a term-long senior design course explicitly intended as a bridge to the workplace. Mini-labs (a single lab innately associated with the course content) introduce real-world applications for freshman and later add an experimental component to theory-only classes. Physics senior design is a mock-work experience where small groups of students design and construct a scientific apparatus for a sponsor in 10 weeks, while frequently presenting their progress to a rotating group of observers. Graduate tracking and a group chat for alumni currently seeking jobs provide detailed pertinent career information for students based on alumni experiences. I will discuss these innovations and assessment of resultant physics ability beliefs, belonging, persistence, and career outcomes. Acknowledgement of co-authors: Dana Thomas, Erin Crites, Hayden White, Joy Gayles, NC State Departments of Physics and Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development. |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 8:36AM - 8:48AM |
S34.00002: A z-axis Tunneling Microscope for Advanced Undergraduate Labs Joshua P Veazey, Noah Fuerst, Douglas Knapp, Wesley Kozan, Randy Lindgren The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a powerful tool for studying electronic structure in an advanced lab setting. We have developed a simplified alternative to the STM that restricts tip motion to one dimension: the z-axis tunneling microscope (ZTM). Here, the z-axis lies along the tip-sample separation. Students are able to observe the exponential dependence on tunneling current with tip-sample gap, and observe qualitative differences in the electronic density of states between metals, semimetals, and semiconductors. Data collected by advanced lab students as part of their coursework will be presented. The ZTM is simpler and less costly to build than an STM, expanding access to a subset of STM experiments to more learners. |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 8:48AM - 9:00AM |
S34.00003: Bringing Graphene into the Undergraduate Lab Andrew M Seredinski, Tedi Qafko, Nathanael Hillyer, Alexander Norman van der Waals materials can be peeled into flakes as thin as one atomic layer with nothing more than tape. Nearly twenty years since graphene's isolation from bulk graphite, these ultra-thin materials are increasingly finding application in research and industry. We present an undergraduate laboratory experiment to introduce these materials. The procedure enables students to create and study matter at atomic thicknesses with minimal equipment by mechanically exfoliating few-layer graphene and examining it under different wavelengths of light. This experiment may fit optics, advanced laboratory, or scientific instrumentation courses and can be made appropriate for introductory physics classes that cover thin film optics. |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 9:00AM - 9:12AM |
S34.00004: CUREing the General Physics Laboratory: Desiderata, Design, and Preliminary Results Patrick B Greene In this talk, I will describe our Fall 2022/Spring 2023 implementation of a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) lab for General Physics students at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX. CUREs replace standard undergraduate laboratories with authentic research experiences. In designing our lab, we were guided by some desirable properties of a CURE lab. These included having a research topic that was understandable to the students, participation as collaborators in a larger research effort, and a chance to repeat and iteratively refine measurements and methods. Two important design considerations ended up being the lab time frame (one three hour block each week) and the large number of participants (50 students) compared to a typical research mentorship program. I will describe the desiderata of an introductory general physics CURE lab, our particular implementation, and some preliminary results from the first semester on student interest and attitudes. |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 9:12AM - 9:24AM |
S34.00005: Developing a Biophysics CURE Course Focused on Developing AMO Technologies for use in Biochemical Applications Emily Grace ISLAND CURE is a new collaborative project that uses multi-disciplinary approaches in science experimental design and science pedagogy. This collaborative interdisciplinary CURE project includes faculty and students from the physics, chemistry, and biology departments at Northwestern College (NWC) and the Laser Teaching Center (LTC) at Stony Brook University. In the first phase of this project, the students in the biophysics class worked to design and build an IR optical tweezers setup and custom inverted microscope. The students in the class collaborated with students in the biochemistry class who were doing a parallel CURE. Students learned both physics hardware and AMO skills as well as the intersection of biochemistry and physics. Further students had the experience of collaborating with external universities by interacting with students at the LTC in Stony Brook. In this presentation, I will discuss the structure of the course and the scientific and pedagogical outcomes. |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 9:24AM - 9:36AM |
S34.00006: Incorporating Biophysical Research Methods into a Traditional Biochemistry Course Karissa D Carlson ISLAND CURE is a new collaborative project that uses multi-disciplinary approaches in scientific experimental design and science pedagogy. The collaborative interdisciplinary CURE project includes faculty and students from the physics, chemistry, and biology departments at Northwestern College (NWC) and the Laser Teaching Center (LTC) at Stony Brook University. Students in the Biochemistry course worked in parallel with students in the Biophysics course to overexpress, purify, and crystallize mutants of Rev1, a Y Family DNA polymerase. This project will be continued in the Modern Physics Course, demonstrating cohesion between the two disciplines. In addition to the valuable research experience, students learned the biophysical foundation for traditional biochemical research methods and advanced crystallographic techniques. This presentation will discuss the course design and the scientific and pedagogical outcomes. |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 9:36AM - 9:48AM |
S34.00007: Computational Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) for a condensed matter physics class David A Strubbe, Enrique Guerrero The concept of a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) is a way of bringing the excitement of research into the classroom and potentially reaching more students and earlier in their studies than would happen with the typical summer research experience or senior thesis project. Key aspects are of a CURE are that students learn and use research methods, give input into the project, generate new research data, and analyze it to draw conclusions that are not known beforehand. I will show a paradigm for a computational CURE in an undergraduate/graduate condensed matter physics class at the University of California, Merced. It is based on computational studies with density functional theory, provided by a convenient GUI tool on nanoHUB (https://nanohub.org/tools/ucb_compnano) that we co-developed which requires minimal computational skills. After preparatory exercises, students calculated structures, energies, and Raman spectra of different structures and compositions of a monolayer alloy MoS2xSe2(1-x). They followed a defined protocol to contribute to a novel class dataset which they analyzed, and also calculated an additional property of their choice in consultation with the instructor. Studies show that CUREs improve learning, foster a sense of belonging in the field, increase retention of students in science (including going on to do summer research), and are especially beneficial for minoritized/underrepresented students. |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 9:48AM - 10:00AM |
S34.00008: The game of solid-state physics Jamileh B Beik Mohammadi, Omar El Khatib Visualizing three-dimensional structures[1], from automotive parts down to superlattices with desired properties, is a challenging, yet important task. A vast majority of physics and engineering research relies on a solid understanding of materials in two (thin films) and three-dimensional world. Traditional teaching methods are not nearly enough in training students to obtain/enhance three-dimensional visualization skills. Virtual reality provides a modern game-like learning experience for 3D visualization. Previously, this tool is used to teach various range of topics for students in different level of education[2]. We have demonstrated a learning component to solid-state physics class for teaching and assessments purposes in Unity gaming environment. Different level assessments are designed for students in different educational levels. This tool can be used on a computer, equipped with Unity, and can be used with or without a VR headset. The goal is to encourage students to “play” the games and familiarize themselves with the solid-state crystal structures as to practice building structures. We will demonstrate this tool as a hands-on component to teaching solid-state physics. |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 10:00AM - 10:12AM |
S34.00009: Teaching with Virtual Neutrons: The McMaster Neutron Instrument Simulator James P Clancy, Greg Van Gastel, Taryn McMillan, Yijia Zi The McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR) is a 5 MW research reactor located on the campus of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The MNR is currently the most powerful neutron source in Canada, and the only facility in the country which uses neutron beams for materials research. From a physics education standpoint, the MNR offers many exciting opportunities for teaching and learning, including undergraduate laboratories, student research projects, and specialized courses and workshops. In particular, the majority of physics education efforts at the MNR have focused on neutron scattering – a powerful experimental technique which is used to study the structure of materials (where the atoms are) as well as their dynamics (how the atoms move). However, the nature of the learning environment at the MNR can introduce significant challenges, including security, ease of access, health and safety, and availability of beamtime. To address these challenges, we have developed a virtual Neutron Instrument Simulator (bit.ly/MacNeutronSim) which can be used to illustrate the basic principles of neutron scattering, and carry out simple virtual lab experiments. In this presentation, we will discuss the teaching and learning goals for this project, demonstrate the current version of the simulator, and describe the initial feedback and response from student learners. We will also present ideas for new features and improvements, and discuss potential strategies for course implementation. |
Thursday, March 9, 2023 10:12AM - 10:24AM |
S34.00010: Smartphone Based Labs for On-Line Physics Classes Yiping Zhao In past two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities had to offer classes on-line. For many lab-based STEM courses, the impact was truly devastating. Various ad hoc solutions, such as the use of simulation software and/or hurriedly taped videos, cannot give students the same “truly experimental experience” that real labs can provide. I argue that introducing smartphone-based Introductory Physics Labs (SmartIPL) and Modern Optics Labs, could be a potential solution, which not only ensure that under the on-line instruction environment, the students can still experience the true experimental environment, but also could promote the critical thinking and innovation from students. I will give a few examples how different labs are designed for SmartIPL. The video instructions for SmartIPL can be found at the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl09XbhyUTqP2BEX6C7nkaQ/videos. Showcases for various optics labs can also be obtained at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDNH_mEXvy-Rp98ri96EuLw as well as in a recent book[1]. These smartphone-based labs can stimulate more interest from the students, and, by including state of the art manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing, also improve their career training. They also can be used in K-12 education and disseminated via social media to promote public interest. |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700