Physics 427/576 Course Requirements

Physics 427 Requirements:

• homework
  
• participating in class discussion (with evidence of having completed the readings) 
• leading/facilitating a class presentation, and a report on this presentation 
• preparing two short reports

Physics 576 Requirements:

• The above requirements, with increased background evident
• Third short report
  

Topic Choice

• physics underlying semiconductor nanostructures
  
• fabrication of semiconductor nanostructures
• characterization of semiconductor nanostructures
• applications of semiconductor nanostructures

• In class presentation
  
• Short Report on seminar presentation
  
• Short Report on current literature
  
• Short Report on established phenomenon or technique (e.g. from reviews or books)

Submission Format:

• Electronic submissions should be emailed to ph122mo@u.washington.edu.  Admissible formats are text, html source, MSWord, powerpoint, and pdf.
  
• Hard-copy submissions may be handed in during class or to either Prof. Olmstead's physics department mailbox or her office (PAB B433).
• "Less than or equal to 3 pages" is defined in the standard NSF grant manner -- at least 2.5 cm margins, no more than 6 lines/2.5 cm vertically or 15 characters/2.5 cm horizontally (i.e., ≥10 point type).  You may include one extra page for figures and/or references and bibliography.

Written products (details include in-class requirements as well):

• Homework (details)  [5 pts per assignment]
  
• completion of ~ 4-5 assignments during the quarter.
  [due one week after assigned]
  
• Class Participation (details)  [10 pts total]
  
• an evaluation of each student presentation
[due within a week of the presentation; submitted on web-based form through the class web page]
• Class Presentation  (details)  [60 pts total]
• ≤ one-page summary or abstract of the presentation, to be posted on the course web page, submitted as a group.  The summary should include the main references used for the presentation.
[due one week before the presentation; electronic submission]

• list of readings the class should complete before the presentation, to be posted on the course web page, submitted as a group.
[due one week before the presentation; electronic submission]

• copy of viewgraphs, powerpoint file, or other materials used in presentation, submitted as a group
[due one week after the presentation; electronic or hard-copy submission]
• three page report on topic of the presentation, submitted individually.  Groups should divide the topic among themselves for the information to be summarized in the reports.
[due one week after the presentation; electronic or hard-copy submission]
• Short Reports (each maximum three pages in length) (details)  [20 pts each]
  
• report on seminar presentation
  [due one week after seminar; either electronic or hard-copy submission]
  
• report on current literature
  [citation due Wednesday 23 November, report due Friday December 9, earlier submission encouraged; either electronic or hard-copy submission]
  
• report on established phenomenon or technique
  [topic due Wednesday November 16, report due Wednesday November 30; either electronic or hard-copy submission]
  

Homework (5 points per assignment)

Class Participation (10 points total)

participation in class discussions,

completion of the peer evaluations in a timely, fair and thoughtful manner.

Your class participation should follow from the readings and presentations. You are expected to complete assigned reading(s) before each class. Participation that is grounded on the readings -- whether reporting on them or critically assessing them against other knowledge you have or your own experiences -- will be considered of a high quality. 

As part of your class participation you will evaluate each student presentation. Using a form that lists the criteria to be used, you will evaluate the presentations. This form is to be submitted through the web page within a week of the presentation. (Because your classmates’ grades are affected by this rating, no delays are possible. If you miss a class presentation, turn in an evaluation of the readings.)  Giving the same rating to all criteria and/or all respondents does not qualify as a fair or thoughtful evaluation.

Your class participation will be assessed both in terms of quantity and quality using the criteria listed in the second paragraph of this section.

Class presentation (60 points total)

Students must agree among themselves about the division of labor for all of the steps below since 2/3 of your grade on class presentation will be graded jointly with your co-presenters. As part of your class proposal please describe what agreements you have made among yourselves regarding division of labor. If after reaching this agreement difficulties arise, please communicate with the instructor before the graded activities (writing of the abstract and list of readings, presentation) are due.  If you wish separate evaluations and grading of your oral presentation, this must be communicated before your presentation.

One half of your grade (30 pts) for the presentation will be based on your in class presentation, as evaluated by both your peers and the instructor.  The remaining half will be allocated to the written materials: abstract and choice of assigned readings (1/6, or 10 pts), and summary report (1/3, or 20 pts).

Because many students have never made a class presentation, we detail the steps under four headings: preparation, mechanics in preparation for the presentation, presentation, and summary of the presentation. You should keep in mind the evaluation form of the presentation as you prepare each of the steps below.

PREPARATION

2.  Decide on partition of labor within your group.  Meet as a group to define the topic and subdivide the effort.  Set definite times for meetings and deadlines for preparing parts of the presentation.

3. Find background material. Start with a computer library search. Review reference lists of materials assigned by instructor -- these may lead you to other references. You may also consult with the instructor.

4. Consult with the instructor about the approach you want to take and the readings that you want to include in your presentation and assign for students to read before class.

5. Select the bibliography. The reading(s) should be selected because of centrality to the issue and to the approach that you want to pursue, it should serve to frame your presentation. Readings need not be in agreement with each other, when this is the case you must address in your presentation these disagreements or discrepancies. Supplemental readings may be selected to clarify, expand, challenge, etc. the core reading(s).  Determine which material should be read by the entire class before your presentation.

6. Decide on the format of the presentation. Presentations can follow any format: lecture, conference-style with a poster or overheads, demonstrations, video, etc. Do what feels most appropriate to the task; feel free to consult with the instructor about this.

7. Prepare the one-page abstract of the presentation. Describe your presentation in less than 200 words.  You should include the major topics to be discussed and enough information to guide the class as they read the assigned material before your presentation.  This abstract, to be submitted electronically, is due one week before the presentation and will be posted on the class web page.

8. Prepare the list of assigned readings. The list of readings should be prepared in American Institute of Physics Journal style. For each reading, include a one sentence summary of what the students should concentrate on in the reading.  The list should be submitted electronically one week before the presentation and will be posted on the class web page.

ONE WEEK BEFORE THE PRESENTATION

PRESENTATION

1. Introduction. Each presentation should begin with an introduction of the topic. A rationale/context should be provided for the choice of the readings.

2.  Main Body of Presentation.

• Format You are free to format the presentation in any way you feel is most effective.  You may have a single student present the entire report, or divide the time among yourselves.  Regardless of the format that you choose, the content of the presentation should cover the items listed in the next bullet.

• Content. Address all of the following:
• a description of the science underlying the lecture topic.
  
• a description of how a typical measurement or calculation of the phenomenon might proceed
  
• an example of how this applies to semiconductor nanostructures, including at least one example from the primary literature.
  

3. Class Discussion. Facilitate all students’ participation. Be sure to pay attention to all students’ contributions. If someone has not participated you may want to be particularly encouraging of their participation.  Answer questions clearly and succinctly.

WEEK FOLLOWING PRESENTATION:  SUMMARY REPORT

Your report should summarize the presentation and the conclusions you reached, making reference to the assigned readings and other literature.  You may also note any substantial points raised during the class discussion. The abstract you submitted may serve as an outline to use for this summary. Attach to this summary copies of any handouts or slides that you used.

Short reports [20 points each]

Report 1.  Summary of Seminar or Colloquium Presentation
[It is suggested you clear the seminar with Prof. Olmstead before beginning your report; Due 1 week following the seminar you attend]

• Title, Time, Place and Venue of talk
• Full name and affiliation of speaker
• The focus ("take-home message") of the presentation
  
• Summary of the essential information in their presentation
• Methods used in collecting (or generating) the information presented.
• Major results and conclusions of the presentation.
  
• Brief Critique of material presented -- did the results support the conclusions?  were the experiments or calculations complete?  where does the presentation fall on the relevant scale of good science/clever engineering/broad impact?
• Brief Critique of the way in which the material was presented -- was it accessible to someone with your background?  was the material presented clearly and logically?
• Question for the speaker, and the speaker's answer.  Your question should demonstrate some knowledge or curiosity about the results, and require a more than few word answer (for example -- Don't ask, "At which temperature did you grow your samples?"  A somewhat better question is "If you increase the temperature, in which way do you expect the results of your experiment to change?"  Still better is "I would think that increasing the diffusion rate during deposition by increasing the deposition temperature should increase the spacing between your nanodots.  Is that a viable solution to the problem of cross-talk that you presented?  Why or why not?"

• Physics Colloquium.  Mondays 4 pm, Physics A102  Web Page
• Condensed Matter Physics Seminar.  Tuesdays 4 pm, Physics C421.  Schedule.
• Nanotechnology Seminar.  Tuesdays 12:30 pm, Bagley 260.  Schedule.
• Materials Science and Engineering Colloquium.  Mondays 3:30 - 4:30  Mueller (Roberts-Underground) 153  Schedule.
• Chemical Engineering Colloquium.  Mondays 4-5 pm Physics A110.  Schedule.
• Electrical Engineering Colloquium.
• Physical Chemistry Seminar.  Wednesdays 4 pm, Bagley 261.  Schedule for All Chemistry seminars.
• Inorganic Chemistry Seminar.  Schedule for All Chemistry seminars.
  

Report 2.  Report on Current Literature
    [topic (citation) due Wednesday Nov 23 (before Thanksgiving); report due Friday December 9 (last class)]

• Full Citation (Title, Authors, Author Affiliation, Journal, Page and Volume, Year)
• A summary of the major results of the paper, in your OWN words -- DON'T just rephrase the abstract, but describe the methodology (how they grew and characterized samples or did their calculation), major result(s), and conclusions.
• A brief summary of how the paper fits into current knowledge -- this will include reading through a couple of the main references in the paper.  If the paper is more than a few months old, you should also check the Web of Science Citation Index for papers that cite the paper you chose.
• A suggestion of a follow-up experiment or calculation to test or utilize the conclusions of the paper.
  
• A referee report on the paper, for example using the Physical Review Letters Referee Report Form.  You are welcome to use the report form for the journal your paper is from (in general available through the journal's web page), if the PRL form doesn't seem appropriate.  Note that even though the paper you are reporting on has already made it into print does not necessarily mean that there aren't still mistakes or unclear parts.  You can also just fully praise the article if you think it is really excellent. 
  
• Please attach a copy of the article to your report.
  

• Science
• Nature
• Nature Materials
  
• Physical Review Letters
• Applied Physics Letters
• Physical Review B Rapid Communications
• Journal of Applied Physics
• Japanese Journal of Applied Physics
• Solid State Communications
• Journal of Physics
• Journal of Chemical Physics
• Journal of the American Chemical Society
  

Report 3.  Report on Established Literature

    [topic due Wednesday Nov 16; report due Wednesday  November 30]

• a description of the science underlying the phenomenon or technique.
  
• a description of how a typical measurement or calculation of the phenomenon might proceed
  
• an example of how this applies to semiconductor nanostructures, including at least one reference to original literature using it.
  
• at least 5 references (this might include book chapters, review articles, operations manuals, primary literature)