Course Details

PHYS 100. INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICS I (4)
Three hours of lecture and one three-hour lab per week. Lab fee required. A non-calculus based introduction to the concepts and principles of physics. The areas covered include classical mechanics, wave motion and thermal physics. Practical examples will be used to illustrate the relationship between physics and other disciplines, especially the life sciences, and to develop problem-solving skills. Laboratory sessions will include computer-simulated experiments.
GenEd: B1

PHYS 101. INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICS II (4)
Three hours of lecture and one three-hour lab per week. Lab fee required.
Prerequisite: PHYS 100
A non-calculus based introduction to the concepts and principles of physics. The areas covered include electromagnetic theory, light, and atomic and nuclear physics. Practical examples will be used to illustrate the relationship between physics and other disciplines, especially the life sciences, and to develop problem-solving skills. Laboratory sessions will include computer-simulated experiments.
GenEd: B1

PHYS/ASTR 105. INTRODUCTION TO THE SOLAR SYSTEM (4)
Three hours of lecture and two hours of activities per week.
Prerequisite: None
Descriptive introduction to the astronomical properties of the Solar System. The historical development of astronomy. The laws that govern the behavior of the Universe. The properties of the stars and galaxies, including their origin and evolution. The Big Bang theory. Activity sessions will include computer-simulated exercises, and two field trips.
GenEd: B1

PHYS 200. GENERAL PHYSICS I (4)
Three hours of lecture and one three-hour lab per week. Lab fee required.
Prerequisite: MATH 150
A calculus-based introduction to the concepts and principles of physics. The areas covered include classical mechanics, wave motion and thermal physics. Practical examples will be used to illustrate the relationship between physics and other disciplines, including the life sciences, and to develop problem-solving skills. Laboratory sessions will focus on computer-simulated experiments.
GenEd: B1

PHYS 201. GENERAL PHYSICS II (4)
Three hours of lecture and one three-hour lab per week. Lab fee required.
Prerequisite: PHYS 200
A calculus-based introduction to the concepts and principles of physics. The areas covered include electromagnetic theory, light, and atomic and nuclear physics. Practical examples will be used to illustrate the relationship between physics and other disciplines, including the life sciences, and to develop problem-solving skills. Laboratory sessions will focus on computer-simulated experiments.
GenEd: B1

PHYS/ART 208. The Physics of Art and Visual Perception (3)
Two hours lecture and two hours lab per week.
Prerequisites: none.
A course on the physics of light, color, art and visual perception. The course will cover the nature of light and optical phenomena, the perception and psychology of color, the reproduction of color in different media, and the analysis of art from a science perspective. The emphasis is on factors which permit the artist and observer to understand and more fully control the design and interpretation of images of all kinds. Demonstrations, experiments, and video/computer simulations are used to analyze signals received by the eyes or instruments.
GenEd-ID: B1,C1

PHYS/BIOL 315. INTRODUCTION TO BIOPHYSICS (4)
Three hours of lectures and two hours of practical activity per week.
Prerequisite : Consent of instructor.
This course applies physical methods to the study of biological systems, including transport processes and membrane phenomena, bioelectric phenomena, photosynthetic systems and visual systems. Biophysical methods will include the techniques of patch clamping and optical tweezers, and the measurement of action potentials and evoked responses.
There will be an emphasis on modeling and on problem solving, with appropriate mathematics when necessary. The practical activity session will include computer modeling and simulation, and laboratory demonstrations and exercises.

PHYS/MUS 335. THE PHYSICS OF MUSIC (3)
Two hours of lecture and two hours of lab activity per week.
Prerequisite: None
This course is designed to give a useful understanding of music and sound for students interested in music, speech, and language. Other students will find it an interesting and understandable introduction to the methods of science. Extensive use of demonstrations and sound analysis computer programs will be used to accomplish these objectives. The format will include lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on use of the computer programs. The student will be responsible for a term project of his or her own choosing using the computer programs.
GenEd-ID: B1, C1.

ENGL/PHYS 338. SCIENCE AND CONSCIENCE (3)
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
This course is a team-taught interdisciplinary course that examines various ethical issues within the sciences, using several case studies. The scientific, historical and social aspects of each case study will be examined from different perspectives. Students will learn scientific concepts which will facilitate an informed understanding of the ethical issues involved.
GenEd-ID: B1, C2

PHYS/COMP/MATH 345. DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING (3)
Three hours of lecture in the lab per week.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
An introduction to the basic concepts and techniques for digital image restoration and enhancement, analysis, coding and compression. The emphasis is on processes which analyze primarily two-dimensional discrete images represented at the pixel level, including filtering, noise reduction and segmentation. Fourier analysis techniques will be explored. Programming exercises will be used to implement the various processes, and their performance on synthetic and real images will be studied, and an individual project report will be completed.
GenEd-ID: B1, B4.

PHYS/BIOL 416 RADIOBIOLOGY AND RADIONUCLIDES (3)
Prerequisites: PHYS 201 ; BIOL 300
Nature and effects of ionizing radiation on biomolecular structures and living cells. Applied radiobiology and radionuclides. Genetic effects of ionizing radiation and methods of protection. Dosimetry

PHYS/BIOL/HLTH 434. INTRODUCTION TO BIOMEDICAL IMAGING (4)
Three hours of lecture and two hours of lab activity per week, including two field trips per course.
Prerequisite: BIOL 210 or PHYS 200.
The course will present an overview of biomedical images and imaging systems. The fundamental concepts used in several imaging modalities (such as projection radiography, mammography, DEXA, computed tomography, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging) will be examined: the emphasis will be on an intuitive and descriptive presentation of the main components of these systems. Image formation and reconstruction will be addressed. The resulting clinical images will be correlated with the underlying structure and function of the organs, and the diagnostic utility and limitations of the images will be considered.
Same as BIOL 434, COMP 434, HLTH 434.
GenEd-ID: B2 (Physical Sciences), E

PHYS/COMP/MATH 445. IMAGE ANALYSIS AND PATTERN RECOGNITION (3)
Three hours of lecture in the lab per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS/COMP/MATH 345 or consent of instructor.
The course addresses the issue of analyzing the pattern content within an image. Pattern recognition consists of image segmentation, feature extraction and classification. The principles and concepts underpinning pattern recognition, and the evolution, utility and limitations of various techniques (including neural networks) will be studied. Programming exercises will be used to implement examples and applications of pattern recognition processes, and their performance on a variety of diverse synthetic and real images will be studied, and an individual project report will be completed.
GenEd-ID: B1, B4.

PHYS/BIOL 464 Medical Instrumentation (4)
Three hours of lecture and two hours of lab activity per week, including two field trips per course.
Prerequisite : BIOL/PHYS/HLTH 434
The detection, acquisition, processing and display of diagnostic clinical images. The course will concentrate on the fundamentals of the design of the instruments and the use of appropriate reconstruction algorithms in (computed) radiography, (digital) fluoroscopy, computed tomography,ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and radionuclide imaging. The mathematics will be kept to a minimum. Activities will include image reconstruction examples, investigation of recent innovations, and two trips to local Radiology departments.

PHYS 490. Topics in Applied Physics (3)
Three hours per week.
Prerequisites: Upper division standing and consent of instructor.
In-depth analysis of topics in applied physics. Topics vary each semester. May be repeated for credits as topics change.

PHYS 492. Internship (3)
Six hours per week.
Prerequisites: Upper division standing and consent of instuctor.
Supervised work and study in industrial or scientific setting involving development of skills related to applied physics. All students are required to present their projects at the Senior Colloquium. Graded CR/NC.

PHYS 494. Independent Research (3)
Variable hours per week.
Prerequisites: Senior standing and consent of research advisor.
Contracted laboratory and/or library research in selected areas within applied physics conducted under the supervision of a faculty member. All students are required to present their projects at the Senior Colloquium.

PHYS 497. Directed Studies (3)
Variable hours per week.
Prerequisite: Senior standing and program approval of written proposal.
Supervised project involving reading and library research in the field of applied physics. All students are required to present their projects at the Senior Colloquium.

PHYS 499. Senior Colloquium (1)
Prerequisites: Senior standing.
One hour of seminar. Oral presentations of current advances in the field, reports on students’ projects in PHYS 492, 494 or 497 courses, and invited lectures.