Physics 399 -- Senior Seminar - Fall 2012/Spring 2013

Fall Syllabus

Spring Syllabus

Instructor: Suzanne Amador Kane

FALL TERM

Fall meetings will be held Wednesday 1 to 2pm in KINSC L205, except as noted below for talks.

The physics& astronomy faculty welcome you to Senior Seminar! In this course you will practice writing a scientific paper; learn how to give a scientific presentation; hear lectures by eminent scientists and interact with them; learn more about careers available to you when you finish at Haverford; get into contact with alums who have gone in career directions of interest to you; learn about graduate school and how to go about selecting and applying to schools; and participate in discussions on topics relevant to science.

Course Requirements (Fall)
• Attend all scheduled meetings of the seminar.
• Attend Philips visits and department colloquia. We hope you will also attend the informal meetings with our visitors. They enjoy talking with students and these informal gatherings are a great way to find out more about speaker and what he or she is up to.
• Read assigned selections and participate in class discussions.
• Write a short paper consisting of a preliminary version of the introduction and background sections of your senior paper (4-5 pages typically), a short (one page) progress report on the actual status of the project, and a bibliography that puts your work in its proper scholarly context. This is due at the end of the semester.
• Give a brief (10 min.) informal presentation to the seminar about the intro/background part of your senior paper project during Finals Period.

Grading

You will receive one grade at the end of the academic year for Phys 399 as a whole. (The grade of CIP, course in progress, will besubmitted at the end of the fall semester provided all fall requirements were met.) The physics faculty working together assigns grades in the senior seminar according to the following approximate weighting factors:

A reduction of 0.5 grade point will be applied per unexcused absence if more than one occurs per semester. (This includes attendance at required colloquia and senior talks.)

Fall Schedule

SPRING TERM 2013

The physics and astronomy faculty welcomes you back to the spring semester of Senior Seminar!  We will meet only irregularly this semester for talks and student presentations. See the schedule posted below and our department calendar for relevant dates.

In this semester, you will complete writing your Senior Thesis, with feedback from two faculty members, and deliver your Senior Presentation.

You are expected to participate in any departmental colloquia, and are encouraged to interact with our speakers through the luncheons, dinners and other opportunities for conversation.

Course Requirements (Spring)

• Attend all scheduled meetings of the seminar.
• Attend the department colloquia and student Senior Talks
• Read any assigned articles and participate in class discussions.
• Prepare and deliver the senior presentation
• Write your Senior Thesis according to our senior seminar guidelines

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SPRING SCHEDULE - Physics 399

January & February	Astronomy Faculty Search Candidate talks: exact dates, time and locations to be announced
March 9 - 17	SPRING BREAK
April 18	Thurs. 5 p.m.; deadline for first draft of your Senior Paper
April 24	Wed: first reader returns revised first draft to student
April 29	Monday: Revised version of Senior Paper to first and second readers, noon (This version is graded)
May 3	Fri: Check to see if additional changes are needed for the final version (Last Day of Classes)
May 6-9	Senior Presentations  / (Astronomy Comprehensive Exams--not part of senior seminar)
May 9	Thursday: final version of senior paper submitted to first reader by noon (Finals Period)

Senior Paper Readers:

Here are the first and second readers for your Senior Papers (subject to revision):