Physics Department
Fall 2009
PHY4134: Widely Applied Physics I
About this course:
This
course is the first part of a two-course sequence (PHY4134, PHY4135). It
provides a broad view of the applications of physics principles to nanoscience
and nanotechnology, an exciting and rapidly evolving field.
Specifically,
the course will cover the applications of nanomaterials in nano electronic
devices, energy, medicine, homeland security, environment protection, etc.
Prerequisite:
PHY3107 (Modern Physics II).
Textbook: “Nanotechnology:
Understanding Small Systems” by Ben Rogers, Sumita
Pennathur, and Jesse Adams. (CRC press, ISBN: 9780849382079. Check FIU
bookstore for this title if you need to buy a copy.)
Class meeting time and place: Tuesday and
Thursday 9:30 – 10:45, Classroom: Owa Ehan 102
Instructor: Dr. Wenzhi Li, Associate Professor in Physics. Office: CP 212;
Website: http://www.fiu.edu/~liwenzhi/
Office hours:
Tuesday and Thursday 10:50-11:50
Individual assistance with any aspect of this course
will be available during my office hours. If you have questions regarding the
course outside of my hours, you are encouraged to make an appointment with me
by email.
Class attendance and preparation:
Attending class is essential for understanding the
class materials. This is an interactive class, in which you can always ask
questions. Most importantly, some material is not in the textbooks, some
handouts may be given in class. Class demonstration and laboratory research
demonstration will be organized besides the class lectures.
Homework:
Homework problems will be
selected from the end of chapter problems of the textbook. Homework problems
are due a week after the assignment and will be graded. You can consult books,
published papers, and online articles, but you must cite sources from which you
get the information or solution.
Term
paper/project:
You and some of your
classmates will form a small group to write a term paper on a topic which is
relevant to the course material and give a corresponding presentation. The
paper is due in advance of your final presentation. Each
group member should take primary responsibility for a phase of the project; the
contributors’ name of each phase of the project should be clearly indicated in
the paper. The Presentation should be a
team work, for which each group member should present a fair fraction of the
presentation (schedules
for paper submission and presentation will be given the first week in class).
Grading:
You score is calculated in the following way.
The relative weighting is 10% for class attendance
and participation, 20% for homework, 30% for term paper (same
for all group members), 30% for presentation (same for all group members),
and 10% individual contribution to paper and presentation.
Your
overall score will be converted to a letter grade when the course finishes.