Southwestern Oklahoma State University Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024
PHYSICS GENERAL INFORMATION The individual who gets a degree in engineering physics can apply the fundamental knowledge of physical processes (1) to the development of solutions for a variety of practical problems that occur in an industrial setting, (2) to the advancement of the frontiers of knowledge through research, and (3) to transmit to others our understanding of the laws of nature and the ways of investigating them. The field of physics is the foundation of many sciences and engineering disciplines: For example, the technological developments in the fields of mechanics, thermodynamics, acoustics, optics, electricity, and nuclear physics have resulted in separate disciplines, such as mechanical and aerospace engineering, laser and applied optics, materials science, electrical engineering, and nuclear engineering. As advances open up new fields of study, the boundaries between engineering and physics fields blur, and we see more and more engineers and physicists working side by side on the same problems. Furthermore, Engineering Physics graduates have a solid foundation upon which to build as their interests change or as the job market changes. Students who choose to study physics will select B.S. Engineering Physics as a major. This option combines fundamental physics courses with applied physics courses such as rigid body mechanics, strength of materials, materials science, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and electronics. The B.S. in Engineering Physics is designed to prepare students for direct entry into the job market as an engineer or for graduate work in physics or engineering. The success of any academic program is predicated on the quality of the students, the faculty, and the academic programs. We have been successful in recruiting talented faculty who have received their doctorates from prestigious universities. The expertise of the faculty, coupled with the information we receive from our physics alumni, has allowed us to develop and maintain academic programs in physics that meet the needs of today’s scientific world. In addition to the general physics laboratories, students can engage in a wide range of physics and engineering activities and research. We have a variety of telescopes and related equipment such as cameras and spectrographs that students use for spectroscopy, photometry, and astrophotography. Students have used these to study supernovae, galaxies, and variable stars, but other projects are certainly possible. Students have been involved in rocketry, launching high-power rockets weighing up to 30 pounds at speeds
in excess of 700 mph more than a mile in altitude while carrying experiments and as part of competitions. Students have designed, built, and programmed autonomous, or radio-controlled quadcopters in a wide range of sizes and for a variety of purposes. These require working with microcontrollers such as Arduinos, and related motors and sensors, which are in widespread use in engineering and technology fields. Students make considerable use of our 3D printers to develop components for various projects, learning 3D computer aided design in the process. Students are not limited to these projects, and they will always receive faculty assistance and supervision. Students are encouraged to gain experience through work in the department as laboratory assistants and tutors. Application for such employment can be made in the physics office. Career counseling is also available to physics students in the department. A number of scholarships are available through endowments in the SWOSU Foundation for students who have significant financial needs and have maintained high grade point averages. Most of these are for continuing physics majors, but a few are available to incoming students who have declared physics as a major. Applications for scholarships can be made in the physics office. The Physics faculty sponsors a chapter of the national Society of Physics Students that is affiliated with the American Institute of Physics. The SWOSU chapter has been recognized many times as an outstanding chapter in the nation for its accomplishments and level of activity. This organization has also received many grants for research projects and for the promotion of physics. Students in the Engineering Physics program should become involved in these activities as early as possible in order to develop professionally and socially. The local student organization is the Physics Club. Both local and national memberships are strongly encouraged. Students receive many benefits from their involvement in physics activities, and our students have been quite successful after graduation. Many have attended graduate school in physics or engineering programs at prestigious universities across the nation. Others have taken employment with national laboratories, defense industries, and major corporations. Some have been employed in the financial sector. Still others have become high school or university teachers, physicians, optometrists, and military officers.
For more information, visit our web site at: https://www.swosu.edu/academics/academic- departments/chemistry-physics/index.php
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