Physics

Many children encountering a stream in a forest feel a sense of enchantment and mystery. They want to explore upstream, to discover what is hidden around the bend, the mystery of the source. This feeling of the mysterious, a mingled longing, awe, and curiosity, gets lost for most of us as we grow up. Maybe we have explored streams, and they weren’t as wonderful as we had hoped. Or, we have become burdened with the vicissitudes of life. But a need for this feeling remains, and sometimes haunts our dreams. Some of us are able to find it again, in a deeper way, through the study of physics.

Einstein’s theory of relativity, the quantum theory, and the cosmology of Stephen Hawking, famous outposts of human imagination, are parts of a vast realm of knowledge and mystery that we call physics. This realm includes the foundations for all of the natural sciences. It extends from the structure of the atomic nucleus, to the fundamental processes taking place in living cells, to the large-scale structure and evolution of the whole universe. This realm is well-traveled by the physicist, yet every path leads to uncharted territory. To know physics in depth is to understand the deepest things known about the structure of space, time, matter, and the laws that govern natural phenomena, as well as to experience the frontiers of the human quest.

A physics major is a challenging undertaking. Our program for majors at Lewis & Clark involves a two-year introductory sequence, followed by advanced courses in classical dynamics, quantum mechanics, and electricity and magnetism. In addition, we offer a selection of elective courses that varies from year to year. In the introductory courses, together with 30 fellow learners, you will have wonderful opportunities for close faculty interaction. In the upper-division classes, these interactions deepen, the classes assume more of a seminar format, and individualized assignments and projects are possible.

The physics department also offers a selection of courses tailored for students majoring in other disciplines.

It is best to start a physics major in your first year. You may also start in the second year, but you’ll need to double up on the advanced courses in your senior year. The flexibility of our course scheduling enables students to take advantage of the College’s overseas study program.

An important part of the physics program is collaborative summer research between faculty and students. This work is supported by both internal and external grants, and pays students a stipend plus living expenses. Students who excel in their coursework may be invited to engage in this activity, which frequently leads to publication in research journals. Students may also coauthor and present papers at national meetings of the professional societies in physics, biophysics, and astronomy.

A student may also elect to do a research internship at another institution. In recent years, students have done summer internships at MIT, Columbia University, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of Colorado, University of Utah, and Tektronix. One student took an academic semester plus a summer research internship at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Some students continue to do collaborative research during the academic year. Students may also propose research projects of their own, to be carried out in their junior and senior years. Those who qualify are invited to do an honors thesis during their senior year.

Department and facilities

The physics department has five full-time faculty with diverse interests and specializations. Our full-time staff includes a secretary, a machinist and instrument maker, and an electronics technician.

The Olin Center for Physics and Chemistry provides more than 40,000 square feet of classroom, laboratory, library, and study space. Facilities and equipment include: a physics lecture theatre with advanced video and lecture demonstration facilities; well-equipped introductory laboratories; a large machine shop; a research astronomical observatory; remote observing laboratory for studying the galatic interstellar medium from Kitt Peak, Arizona; a stellar photometry research facility; a solar telescope and spectrograph; a laboratory for electrical instrumentation; and an advanced laboratory for ongoing student projects. There are also special student-faculty research laboratories for astrophysics, spectroscopy, optical and electron microcroscopy, biophysics, computational physics, critical phenomena, and holography.

The college has a robust set of computing resources. Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX platforms are all available and are connected seamlessly by an extensive network with full Internet access.

Awards won by physics majors

Our students are recognized nationally. Fourteen Lewis & Clark students have secured U.S. Congress-sponsored Goldwater science scholarships since 1993—the largest number of any private college in the Northwest. Five of these were physics majors.

Nearly all physics majors at Lewis & Clark go on to careers or further study involving physics. Some take research positions in private industry or in government service. Others pursue teaching careers at the secondary or college level. Many of our majors go on to graduate school for additional training, usually in physics, engineering, or computer science.

In recent years, Lewis & Clark physics majors have been accepted into graduate programs across the country, including the University of Wisconsin, the University of Washington, and the University of California at Berkeley. These students have received full tuition support plus graduate assistant positions or fellowships from NSF and the Hertz Foundation.

Professional positions obtained by physics graduates

• Research scientist, Stanford Linear Accelerator
• Senior staff scientist, Honeywell Corporation (developer of patent for autofocus SLR camera)
• Software engineer, Microsoft Corporation
• Production engineer, Intel Corporation
• Research assistant, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Programmer, Advanced Systems Concepts
• Physics faculty members at Whitman College, University of Colorado, and University of West Virginia
• Director of hardware engineering, Corvis Corporation
• Laser technician, Waveform Systems
• Mechanical Engineer, Xerox Corporation