Student 'stars' of the Physics program
Physics student Tyler Engel
Walk into the main office of the Physics Department at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Upham Hall and you'll normally be greeted by two elements: The happy smile of Lynda Mueller, the academic department associate, and the bowl of candy she keeps on the counter.
Faculty members say Mueller is one of the reasons the physics program at UW-Whitewater has expanded to 78 majors and why students in the department seem to be having such a good time.
"We try to be a very friendly department, very accommodating and Lynda is a key to that," said Steve Sahyun, associate professor of physics and department chair. "She gets to know the students, tries to make them feel welcome. When students have a good rapport it builds."
Mueller is, however, the first face most visitors see and the fact the faculty recognize her importance to their program goes a long way toward explaining the student-centered emphasis of that program.
The student-centered emphasis is demonstrated in many ways.
Associate Professor Robert Benjamin, a specialist in astrophysics, takes his two top students with him each summer to observe at the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Ariz. This year, sophomores Nicholas Geist and William Thanholt will travel with him to study photometric data on star formation.
Students back in Whitewater also join in observations using computerized links to the Arizona telescopes.
"It's a really neat thing," Benjamin said. "All our majors are going to have access to high-tech facilities in a really interesting way without UW-Whitewater having to spend tens of millions of dollars for its own equipment."
And, because of the work Benjamin and others in his field do studying the far reaches of space, UW-Whitewater students get experiences few of us will ever encounter.
"You can be studying the data and realize that you've discovered an entire galaxy, tens of billions of stars, that has never been mapped before. That's really something," Benjamin said.
He points out one of the attractions of physics programs everywhere: Physics involves really neat toys.
The laboratories in Upham Hall include vacuum devices that can deposit microscopic coatings on materials, telescopes and all sorts of electronic equipment.
Students who opt for summer internships can "play with bigger toys," Benjamin jokes. Or, smaller ones. One wall in the Physics Department office features an upside-down sign. If one looks through a small telescope mounted on a window looking into the office, the sign reads "physics" but, thanks to the optic properties of a telescope, the sign now appears right-side up.
The physics program at UW-Whitewater has specialty tracks for students interested in education, graduate study, industry and engineering.
The education track prepares students to teach high school physics.
The graduate school track prepares students for graduate study in physics, astronomy or related fields.
The industry track is for students who want to work in industrial research and development.
Students in the engineering track may choose from three options. Some come to UW-Whitewater for two years and then transfer to engineering colleges in universities of their choice. Some receive a four-year degree in physics with an engineering emphasis from UW-Whitewater. These students often take a mathematics minor to complement their physics degree.
Other students enroll in UW-Whitewater’s "3-2" program. Students complete three years of work at UW-Whitewater and then spend two years at UW-Madison or UW-Milwaukee. Upon completion of their education, they receive two degrees, a bachelor of science in physics with an engineering emphasis from UW-Whitewater and a bachelor of science degree in engineering (either civil, electrical, industrial, materials or mechanical engineering) from UW-Madison or UW-Milwaukee.
For example, 2008 graduate Derek Hall is now a lieutenant with the United States Air Force, working in Colorado Springs on projects involving satellites and GPS systems. Joe Grams, a 2006 graduate of the program, is a designer for Epic Systems in Verona, working on computerized medical records, and Ethan Westcot, a 2001 graduate, went on to earn a master's degree at Pennsylvania State University and is now working with X-ray tubes for CT scanners built by GE Healthcare.
Sahyun says one of his goals is to keep those successful graduates involved with the school so they will encourage today's students to develop careers in physics.
"We recently had Mike Westphall, an astrophysicist at UW-Madison, here to lecture our students…on the magnetic fields of the Milky Way," Sahyun said. "We have basically rebuilt the department over the past few years and we have a new emphasis to encourage students to think about physics careers early, take internships and do undergraduate research in the fields that interest them and get excited about the possibilities that are there."
A student research lounge just steps from Sahyun's office is a popular gathering place for students who do just that. Tyler Engel, a junior from Madison, who gets around campus with the assistance of a wheelchair and a service dog, Bella, said he came to UW-Whitewater primarily because of its accessibility and fell in love with the program.
"The teachers and the other students are all great; it's been a good program," Engel said. He will spend another year at UW-Whitewater and then transfer to UW-Madison to complete engineering studies.
Mark Wesche, a senior from Minneapolis, was drawn to UW-Whitewater to play baseball.
"I'd never even had a high school physics class, but I took the introductory class here and fell in love," Wesche said. "After I graduate, I'm going to spend a summer backpacking in Europe and, then, go to graduate school. My ultimate goal is to design an electric car from scratch."
Tom Ruhland, a senior from Hartland, came to UW-Whitewater planning an accounting career.
"But, I like to talk to people and I thought the human interaction would be greater in physics," he said. I love the people who come here. This place is my favorite place to hang on campus; the people all have a sense of humor."
The Wisconsin Association of Physics Teachers will meet on the UW-Whitewater campus Oct. 30-31, and Sayhun and Benjamin and their colleagues are preparing large posters of distant galaxies as well as the Milky Way to mail to each teacher. They say they look forward to sharing their joy in astronomical research with those who teach the state's younger students.
In addition to Sayhun and Benjamin, the Physics Department faculty includes Jalal Nawash, a specialist in crystal growth; Abdelkrim Boukahil, a specialist in solid-state physics; Paul Rybski, an astrophysicist, and Juliana Constantinescu, who teaches geophysics.
For more information on UW-Whitewater’s physics program, visit: http://academics.uww.edu/physics/index.php