Physics majors at Adelphi no longer just solve problems on a whiteboard鈥攖hey build their own solutions from scratch.
A new sophomore physics lab course taught by Matthew Wright, PhD, professor and chair of the physics department, puts students in charge of ambitious, hands-on projects that introduce them to the kind of work they might do in their careers as physicists.
鈥淭his class is innovative because it turns a physics lab into a real R&D shop,鈥� said Dr. Wright, whose annual Cosmic Pathways conference treats college and high school students to a day of presentations, panels and workshops on the many exciting career paths for physics majors.
鈥淪tudents don鈥檛 follow recipes,” he continued. “They invent their own projects, debug unpredictable problems, and learn to think like working scientists and engineers.鈥�
Preparing students for physics careers
Student chose projects鈥攂uilding everything from a leaf blower-powered hoverboard and 3D鈥憄rinted drones to EKG devices and rockets鈥攖hen spent the semester designing and debugging them. Students also had to write a proposal and budget for their project and get approval from Dr. Wright. This gives them experience in grant writing and technical writing.
The lab grew out of a multiyear effort led by Sean Bentley, PhD, associate professor of physics, to redesign the physics curriculum based on feedback from an industry advisory board. Employers told Adelphi they needed graduates who could do more than recite formulas; they wanted people who can debug complex systems, use lab instruments confidently, program computers, and solve messy, open鈥慹nded problems.
The result is a three鈥憏ear lab sequence: an introductory first鈥憏ear lab to learn tools and basics, this open鈥慹nded sophomore lab, and a more advanced senior quantum lab.
A Physics Major Builds Her Own Hoverboard in the Lab
Physics major Carolina Guekjian designed and built a hoverboard powered by a leaf blower.
鈥淚 wanted to do something cool, unusual and futuristic, something you cannot go out and buy,鈥� she said. She used airflow and pressure calculations to figure out how much air she would need to lift to the board, how wide to make the board, how big to make the vents to lift the board.
鈥淵ou can use these equations to come up with a theoretical idea of how your project will work,鈥� Guekjian explained, 鈥渂ut the theory isn鈥檛 always exact due to real world conditions, so I had to alter it to make sure it works perfectly.鈥�
There were problems, of course. Initially she thought she would use magnets in her project. “I ended up ruling them out because it was just going to be a fire hazard,” she says. “So I landed on using a leaf blower instead.” A battery connector failed near the end of her project, she said, which she still needs to fix. But her hoverboard hovers and can be steered left and right, so she counts her project as a success.
Guekjian said she spent 10 hours a week on her project, including lab sessions and time at the machine shop. Her efforts worked and she had a working hoverboard by the end of the class. 鈥淚 learned that being in a lab and making a project is about failing and overcoming the failure until you get it right,鈥� she said. She believes the skills she learned in the lab will help her pursue her dream of going into physics research in quantum optics.
鈥淭he ideas tend to be pretty simple, but the hard part is debugging and fixing and trying to figure out what all the little problems are and overcoming them,鈥� said Dr. Wright, who . That unpredictability turns each class meeting into improvisation, with the instructor moving from bench to bench to help students.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like being the orchestra conductor,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 never know what they鈥檒l need help with, and that makes it fun and challenging for all of us.鈥�
First test run of the hoverboard. We fried one of the propellers so we might be done.
Physics for Sustainability: Creating Energy From Foot Traffic
Physics major Braden Patterson used the sophomore project lab to design a floor tile that generates electricity when someone steps on it. His invention, which Dr. Wright , used a magnet spinning inside a coil to generate an electrical current that can power small devices like an LED light. The broader idea is to harvest energy from everyday foot traffic, he says.
鈥淭he lab and my project gave me a way to connect my coursework to the real world,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淚n Physics I and II we learned the equations on paper, but this project let me build something from scratch and actually see those calculations come to life.”
Patterson said the skills he learned in the lab will help him reach his career goal. He鈥檇 like to work on electric motors for car companies and is also interested in nuclear energy production.
Beautiful teaching moment
Lab Course as a Career Testing Ground
“Dr. Wright is really fun and incredibly supportive,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淗e explains things in a way that makes sense, and he鈥檚 always available for questions. With him, I never feel stressed about asking for help. He just genuinely cares about his students.鈥�
Guekjian agrees. 鈥淒r. Wright is patient and he鈥檚 helpful,鈥� she said. “He really likes it when students learn, and he wants to do everything he can to help you learn the material.鈥�
The lab is designed to push every student out of their comfort zone. Each of the 15 students must confront and overcome obstacles in their projects. 鈥淓very student in the class had to overcome major issues with their project, and that really leads to learning, and it leads to professional growth,鈥� Dr. Wright said.
Dr. Wright also explained that the course could not have been created without the support of Professor Christoper Saucedo and Chris Stahley ’16, head studio technician, of Adelphi’s art department. “Professor Saucedo has built a really nice machine and wood shop and has made it available to the physics students,” Dr. Wright said. “When our students needed to prototype something, they’d go there and Chris Stahley would help them put it together.鈥�
For many students, the class doubles as a career testing ground. About a third of Adelphi physics majors go into engineering, another third into traditional physics paths, and the rest into fields like teaching or technology. By choosing their own projects, students explore what they might want to do after graduation.
They also discover how powerful applied physics can be. 鈥淧hysics is a platform for doing just about anything,鈥� Dr. Wright said.