This REU program was funded through NSF PHY-1004848.
Fourteen students (6 women, 8 men) participated in the UC Davis Physics REU in summer 2010.
Research Projects (more details)
Projects were in Condensed Matter Physics, Biological Physics, Nuclear Physics, High Energy Experiment, General Relativity, and Cosmology.Field Trips (more details)
In 2010 we visited the San Francisco Exploratorium, Muir Woods National Monument, and Muir Beach; toured the Crocker Cyclotron on the Davis campus and Lick Observatory near San Jose; combined a tour of Hat Creek Radio Observatory with camping and hiking in Lassen Volcanic National Park; and toured the Tahoe Environmental Research Center during a weekend at Lake Tahoe.
Other Activities
Students began on either a Wednesday or a Sunday this year, to accommodate those whose colleges are on a semester schedule as well as those on quarters. Once everyone had arrived, several professors spoke to the group about their research areas. Another chance to hear about the variety of research in the department was at weekly lunch meetings where two students gave brief presentations about their projects. At each lunch meeting we also discussed about three problems from former Physics GRE exams, emphasizing easy ways to get partial or complete solutions with lower-level physics. At the two final lunch meetings, a faculty member who has helped design physics GRE questions gave additional pointers on how to prepare for and take the test, and a recent chair of the department's graduate admissions committee talked about what graduate school is like, how graduate students are paid, and how to prepare a strong application.At the end of the program, each student gave a 15-to-20 minute research presentation and prepared final write-ups of their work.
Students found time for Davis's concrete slide and for weekend trips to Santa Cruz and San Francisco.
