College of Arts and Sciences

Physics

Curriculum Development

The core emphasis of our department is effective teaching.  We work diligently to improve the ways in which we prepare students for their post-graduate endeavors.  One important way of doing so is to secure funds from external sources such as the National Science Foundation.  Grants help us purchase modern equipment and allow us to spend ample time revitalizing the content and format of our lecture and laboratory sections.  We develop new curricular materials and methods, and share them with the broader community of physics educators via journal articles, submissions to online collections, and through our website.   

Our curriculum is in a constant state of renewal. Here is a summary of our major initiatives and publications in the area of curriculum development since 2000 (does not include conference proceedings or presentations). 

2018 

  • M. Lopez del Puerto, Using the Finite-Difference Approximation and Hamiltonians to solve 1D Quantum Mechanics Problems, published in the PICUP Collection, www.compadre.org/PICUP (submitted May 2017, published April 2018). 

  • John T. Scheele, Paul R. Ohmann, and Adam S. Green, “A Matlab user-interface tool for modeling herds,” European Journal of Physics, in press (2018). 

2015 

  • Awarded two NSF-IUSE grants as part of the Partnership for Integration of Computation into Undergraduate Physics (PICUP) in collaboration with the Association of Physics Teachers to maintain and develop a collection of educational resources for integrating computation into the physics curriculum, develop and run a series of faculty development workshops, and support participants’ efforts in integrating computation into their courses. (NSF-IUSE #DUE-1525062 (2015-2019) and #DUE-1505180 (2015-2017), Lopez del Puerto) 

  • L. Engelhardt, M. Lopez del Puerto, and N. Chonacky, Simple and synergistic ways to understand the Boltzmann distribution function, American Journal of Physics, 83, 787 (2015). 

2012 

  • Awarded an NSF-TUES grant to overhaul the Applications of Modern Physics (PHYS 225) lab and lecture.  Emphasis is on materials science applications of basic quantum mechanics, with particular relevance to electrical engineering majors.  Applications of Modern Physics curriculum development website (NSF-TUES Grant #DUE-1140034 (2012-2015), Lopez del Puerto) 

  • Awarded an NFS-TUES grant to develop curriculum and technology allowing the use of remotely controlled observatories in astronomy and physics labs (NSF-TUES Grant #DUE-1140385 (2012-2015), Ruch) 

  • Awarded a MathWorks, Inc. Curriculum Development grant to embed computation and experimentation in the Physics curriculum. Embedding Computation website (MathWorks, Inc. Curriculum Development Grant (2012-2013); Green, Jalkio, Johnston, Lopez del Puerto, Ohmann) 

2010 

  • P. Jarvis, M. Heltne, J. Jalkio, C. Greene and M. Johnston, Creating a First Year Problem Solving and Programming Course for Engineers and Scientists, Computers in Education Journal, 20(2),72-79 (2010). 

  • A. S. Green, P. R. Ohmann, N. E. Leininger, and J. A. Kavanaugh, “Polarization Imaging and Insect Vision,” cover article, The Physics Teacher 48, 17 (January 2010). 

2009 

  • K. J. Braun, C. R. Lytle, J. A. Kavanaugh, J. A. Thielen, and A. S. Green, “A Simple, Inexpensive Photoelastic Modulator,” American Journal of Physics, 77 (1), 13 (2009). 

2008 

  • P. R. Ohmann, A. S. Green and M. E. Johnston, Infusing computation throughout the undergraduate curriculum, Computers in Education Journal, 18(3),12-22 (2008). 

  • Developed new computational laboratories for PHYS 225 lab using MATLAB.  Applications of Modern Physics curriculum development website  (MathWorks, Inc. software grant (2008-2010); Lopez del Puerto) 

  • Designed and built a new observatory to complement the Astronomy class, for public outreach, and for student research projects. (Funded by the University of St. Thomas (2008-2010); Johnston, Ruch) 

2005 

  • Created a new laboratory section for the Optics course (Physics 347).  Experiments focus on both physics and engineering skills in the context of a biomedical and biological optics theme. (NSF-CCLI Grant #DUE-0509869 (2005-2008); Green) 

2003 

  • Addressed the needs of K-12 science and mathematics education.  Developed a research network throughout Minnesota that learned about the practices of new elementary and secondary-level teachers. (Teacher Research Network Grant (2003-2007); Tommet) 

  • Incorporated real-world computational physics problems into all upper-division courses to complement students' analytical and laboratory skills. (NSF-CCLI Grant #DUE-0311432 (2003-2006); Ohmann, Green) 

2002 

  • Developed new experiments in nonlinear dynamics, atomic physics, and vacuum technology for the Methods of Experimental Physics course (Physics 323). (NSF-CCLI Grant #DUE-0126849 (2002-2005); Johnston)