Student advising

Ethan 01-10-2008

Outline a clear plan with me before you start.

Spend time in lab, and spend it efficiently: Stick to the plan, but stop and fix things that need fixing (don’t keeping working on half-working equipment).

Ask questions when you're not sure.

Keep clear notes of everything that you try (see data management). Anyone should be able to open your lab notebook and find out what trials/experiments you did yesterday, and what conclusions you drew. This is an important part of working efficiently.

Communicate your conclusions clearly using the data that supports your conclusion. For example - email jpegs of important AFM images to everyone involved - add corrections and comments to wiki recipes as you learn more

Physics

• Machine shop class - The physics department has a nice machine shop on the 4th floor. To gain access to the machine shop you must complete a short course to learn machining basics. The class is offered “on demand”. The class is free and takes a few hours per week for 3 weeks. The class is useful beyond gaining you access to the physics machine shop. There are a lot of skills involved in getting things made that you can't learn without trying.

Biophysics

• 481/581 Biophysics: “Introduction to the physical study of biological systems”. Intended for seniors and grad students. The course runs every year in a three semester sequence.

Chemical Engineering

• 417/517 - Characterization (Light spectroscopy, electron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, AFM, SEM, TEM etc.)
• 444/544 - Growth processes of nanomaterials (chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, plasma etching etc.)
• ? - Semiconductor processing lab class - build and characterize a modern MOS-FET transistor on a silicon wafer, doing every step yourself. A good intro to makin carbon nanotube transistors.

Engineering

• 221 - Scientific, Engineering, and Social Impacts of nanotechnology (survey course).

EECE

• 499/599 Special topic: Physical chemistry of nanomaterials, taught by John Conley. Ask Jorg.

Chemistry

• 445/545 Physical chemistry of surfaces, taught by Phil Watson.

During the first term of senior year you need to develop a thesis proposal: a statement about what experiments you will undertake. The Undergraduate Research, Innovation, Scholarship & Creativity (URISC) proposal is an ideal format for writing this proposal. By completing a URISC proposal you also support the lab by applying for research funding.

The following website will give you a ranked list of physics grad programs based on what you consider most important (for example, faculty citations, faculty funding etc). OSU typically ranks in the 70s. There are a lot of schools to consider: http://graduate-school.phds.org/. If you want to narrow down the search by location (region, state or size of town) and/or your GRE scores (e.g. quantitative 600+) then try: www.princetonreview.com/grad.

Spend time researching the programs. Every application you make will cost significant effort and money (the average application fee is $50).

You should meet with your research advisor as you complete each of these steps:

• Oct Make a short list of your favorite programs. For examples, 4 schools that you are confident will accept you and 4 top schools who you might accept you. Determine the application process and application requirement for each of these schools.
• Nov Complete your applications and contact professors in the programs you will apply. You must also choose 3 or 4 people to write letters of recommendation.
• Dec Mail your applications (this is a lot of paper work!)
• Mar The schools which have accepted you will invite you to visit. Often they will pay your travel expenses.

As part of the application process you have to write a “statement of purpose” which outlines your personal research interests and your personal experience with physics. You cannot produce a sincere reserch statement without studying the websites of faculty in the department where you are applying. Your statement must mention which professors you would like to work with and why.

A good statement of purpose convinces the committee that you have a passion for physics - that you will raise the morale and the enthusiasm of the department. An admissions committee wants to see passion derived from experience, not a passing fancy that could quickly fade. Evidence of passion derived from experience is best shown by discussing your previous engagements with physics.

You can improve your statement significantly by asking an OSU professor to proof read for you.

You should identify research groups with projects that interest you. In your statement of purpose it is critical to discuss specific projects that interest you. It shows that you've thought about what it involved in doing research.

To make sure that you do come up with a realistic plan, and to put your name on the radar, contact the professor directly to see if he/she is still funding projects in your area of interest:

“Dear Prof, I'm am planning to apply to… I am particularly interested in your research, especially… I have experience doing… I attach my resume… ”

If you're having trouble contacting someone, or just want to learn more about a school, you should ask the professors in the OSU physics department. For example, Ethan has contacts at

• Cornell
• MIT
• Stanford
• Harvard
• Columbia University, New York City
• Cal Tech
• Penn State
• University of Maryland
• Brown
• Colorado State
• UC Merced
• UC Davis
• University of Arizona
• Cal State Northridge
• University Washington
• University of Oregon

Any personal contacts you make at confereneces or visiting industry labs are very valuable. When applying for an industry position or a postdoc, it makes a huge difference if somebody already knows who are, or is familiar with a paper you have published.