The Physics program at Amherst has as its main mission the teaching of physics to the full range of undergraduates at the College. This includes the program for physics majors, in which we provide the students with a solid foundation in the basic areas of physics, both theoretical and experimental. Our commitment to physics as a liberal arts subject leads us to stress the conceptual, historical and philosophical context in which the important ideas of contemporary physics arose, as well as to provide the students with a strong technical and mathematical basis on which they can build further learning.

Physics Majors Program

Students who wish to major in physics are required to take the first two semesters of College level calculus (Mathematics 11 and 12) and nine additional courses. The physics courses include: Introductory Mechanics (Physics 16 or 23) and Introductory Electromagnetism (Physics 17 or 24) each of which has a laboratory component; four intermediate courses (Modern Physics (25), Intermediate Laboratory (26), Methods of Theoretical Physics (27), and Statistical Mechanics (30)); and three upper level courses (Mechanics (43), Electrodynamics (47), and Quantum Mechanics (48)). None of the intermediate and upper level courses, except of course Physics 26, has a regularly scheduled laboratory component. The department also offers advanced electives in areas such as Electromagnetism, Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Computation, General Relativity, and Advanced Laboratory Techniques. The electives are not offered every year, but rather as staffing and student interest permit. Beyond the required courses, students are encouraged to undertake an honors research project in their senior year on some research topic that is mutually agreeable to the student and a faculty member. We also encourage physics majors to participate in research projects during the summers, January Interterm, and occasionally during the academic year. These opportunities allow students to experience the excitement of scientific research early in their careers. The department organizes weekly colloquia by distinguished visitors who are urged make the central ideas of their talks accessible to undergraduates who are taking the sophomore level courses. Majors (prospective and declared) are invited to attend these talks so that they may learn the content and style of research in physics as it is currently practiced. The courses required of majors are:

Mathematics 11 and 12 and Physics 16 or 23, 17 or 24, 25, 26, 27, 30 (or Chemistry 43), 43, 47 and 48.

Careers for Physics Majors

Many of our majors go on to some of the best graduate programs in physics and related areas, sometimes after a year of teaching or travel. Others choose to pursue further education in engineering, law, medicine or business, while yet others opt for employment after their graduation. (Here are more details on what some recent majors have done after graduation.)

Courses for Other Majors

The department also offers courses for students majoring in other sciences or wishing to enter medical school after Amherst. Physics 16 and 17, General Physics I and II, have one semester of calculus as a requisite and satisfy the requirements of medical schools for physics. Physics 10 Electronics is also available for students interested in experimental work in any of the sciences.

Equally important to the physics faculty are courses designed for the general student body, whether science majors or not. The department has offered over the years a variety of wide-ranging courses on Physics for the 21st Century, Light, Color and Vision, Natural Philosophy: Understanding Space and Time, interdisciplinary colloquia co-taught with colleagues from the humanities, arts and social studies, and special topics seminars. In all these courses, we expect the discussion, readings and writing to be sophisticated conceptually, while the technical details are kept to the minimum necessary.

While the description given above is the current state of affairs, the physics department is committed to continual reviews of the offerings and the contents of the courses in all three areas.

Faculty Research

The details of different kinds of research that go on in the department are described under each faculty member's name. Here we note that the departmental faculty, as indeed the entire College faculty, regards research and scholarly work as integral to continued effective teaching. Moreover, undergraduates have the opportunity to work in collaboration with members of the faculty both during the summers, during Interterm, and in their senior year, as part of their honors project. The areas in which the physics faculty are currently active are Experimental Condensed Matter Physics (Professors Friedman and Gordon) Experimental Atomic Physics, Laser Spectroscopy, Laser Trapping and Cooling, Bose Einstein Condensation (Professors Hall, Hilborn and Hunter) Precision Tests of Fundamental Symmetries (Professors Hilborn and Hunter) Non-Linear Dynamics (Professor Hilborn) Particle Physics and High Energy Theory (Professors Jagannathan and Loinaz) Experimental Studies in Foundations of Physics (Professor Zajonc) Physics on the Subway (Professor Romer).