Physics

Program of Study

WPI physics graduate program prepares students for careers in research that require a high degree of initiative and responsibility. Prospective employers are industrial laboratories, government or non-profit research centers, as well as colleges or universities.

WPI's physics courses are generally scheduled during the day but with sufficient flexibility to accommodate part-time students. Special topics courses in ares of faculty research interest are often available. To improve the course offerings and opportunities for graduate students, the Departments of Physics at WPI and Clark University share their graduate courses. Please visit the Clark University Physics department web pages for more information on their offerings.

Research Areas

Quantum Physics:

Optics:

Photonics - Fourier optics, photon statistics, nonlinear ooptics, fiber optics, coherent states and squeezed states, optical properties of rough surfaces and of thin metal films.
Spectroscopy - laser spectroscopy of impurity ions in glasses, quasielastic/ inelastic light scatterign and ecitation/ modulation spectroscopy of superlattices, thin films, surface phenomena.
Lasers - develpment of infrared fiber lasers and materials, mid-IR and FIR quantum cascade laser design.

Condensed Matter:

Soft Condensed Matter / Complex Fluids:

Polymers - molecular properties of small sample volumes and single molecules, polymer and bio-macromolecular solutions, surfactants, colloids.
Liquid Crystals - thermotropic/ lycotropic/colloidal systems, phase stransitions and critical phenomena, cooperatiaave behavior and self-assembly, quenched random disorder effects, calorimetry intrumentation.
Liquids - diffusion and transport properties, light scattering spectrosocpy of liquids and polymer melts, wetting phenomena, Casimir forces.
Glasses - theory and simulation, thermodynamics, relaxations.

Physics Education

Research in physics education focuses on aspects of teaching and learning physics, spanning a broad range of topics from psychology- in studying student behaviors-to computer science-in studying uses of new interactive technologies in learning.

Degree Requirements

For the M.S.

The M.S. degree in physics requires 30 semester hours of credit: 6 or more in thesis or directed research with the remainder in approved courses and independent studies, to include PH 511, PH 514, PH 515, PH 522 and PH 533 (15 semester hours). The thesis option requires the completion and defense of a M.S. thesis as well as a seminar presentation based on the thesis research. The seminar and defense may be done in conjunction. The non-thesis option requires a satisfactory performance on the Qualifying Examination.

For the Ph.D.

The doctor of philosophy degree requires 90 credit hours, including 42 in approved courses or directed study (which must include PH 511, PH 514-515, PH 522 and PH 533, or their equivalents), 30 of dissertation research, and completion and defense of a Ph.D. thesis. Courses taken to satisfy M.S. degree requirements may be counted against the required 42 credits of courses, but completion of a M.S. degree is not required.

One year of residency and passage of a qualifying examination are required.

General Information

The qualifying examination for the doctor of philosophy degree is usually administered each year at the beginning of the second semester. Ph.D. aspirants who enter after the bachelor's degree may take the examination during their first year of graduate school, and are expected to take the examination by the end of their second year. There is no penalty for failing or not taking the examination during the first year. Students who fail the examination during their second year must pass the examination when it is next offered. The qualifying examination will include, but is not limited to, material taken from PH 511, PH 514-515, PH 522 and PH 533. Each student's academic work is reviewed on an annual basis by the Physics Department Graduate Committee. Continuation of student status is based on satisfactory progress toward a degree, both in terms of coursework and of research. Renewals of research and teaching assistantships are dependent on satisfactory performance of required duties.

Admission Requirements

B.S. in physics preferred. However, applicants with comparable backgrounds will also be considered.

Faculty and Researach Interests

J. Norbury: Professor and Department Head; Ph.D., University of Idaho
P. K. Aravind: Professor; Ph.D., Northwestern University; Quantum information theory.
N. A. Burnham: Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Colorado; Mechanical properties of nanostructures, instrumentation for nanomechanics.
Delcan DePaor: Research Professor; Ph.D., National University of Ireland; Stress, strain, and kinematic analyses of rocks, crustal deformation on Earth and Mars, computer visualization in geology and geophysics, digital geological mapping and geoeducation.
R. Garcia: Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Penn State University; Casimir forces, phase transitions, and wetting phenomena.
G. S. Iannacchione: Associate Professor; Ph.D., Kent State University; Soft condensed matter physics/complex fluids, liquid-crystals, calorimetry, and orderdisorder phenomena.
S. N. Jasperson: Professor; Ph.D., Princeton University; Optical properties of solids, optical instruments.
T. H. Keil: Professor; Ph.D., University of Rochester; Solid state physics, mathematical physics, fluid mechanics.
C. Koleci: Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Yale University; Physics education.
G. D. J. Phillies: Professor; D.Sc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Light scattering spectroscopy, biochemical physics, polymers.
R. S. Quimby: Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison; Optical properties of solids, laser spectroscopy, fiber optics.
L. R. Ram-Mohan: Professor; Ph.D., Purdue University; Field theory, manybody problems, solid state physics, and finite-element modeling of quantum systems.
A. Zozulya: Professor; Ph.D., Lebedev Physics Institute; Nonlinear optics, photorefractive materials, atom pipes.

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Last modified: June 27, 2007 15:52:46