Learn Physics and Explore London all at once!

WCU MODERN PHYSICS STUDY ABROAD

Good News! Study Abroad Programs are tentatively back on for Summer 2022! So, I have begun the planning for the Second Summer Session 2022. Check below for all sorts of details, I will update sections to the 2022 info as it rolls in. If you want any other info, please get in touch with me (Dr. Waite) using the links at the bottom of the page.

MODERN PHYSICS

"Modern physics" is the term usually used to refer to 20th. c. physics which includes an introductory study of quantum mechanics, atomic physics, relativity and nuclear physics. Many of the major advances in physics during the 20th c. happened in Europe and were greatly influenced by the social and political events of the times. For example, we would most definitely not have made such rapid advances in our ability to harness atomic energy if it were not for the "arms race" during the 2nd World War and our need to build the bomb before Germany. And the improvements in travel allowed for meetings of minds between the eminent scientists such as occurred at the Fifth Solvay Conference in Brussels Belgium in 1927. Seventeen of the 29 participants in this meeting went on to win the Nobel Prize. These meetings greatly enhanced the rate at which science was done during this tumultuous century.

This course is typically the first class beyond the introductory physics courses taken by physics majors and minors. Passing grades in PHY130/140 or PHY170/180 are a pre-requisite for participation in this course and program.

For this program, we will spend the first 2 weeks of the 5-week summer session at West Chester University completing the first 1/2+ of the course material and content. Then we will travel to London for the remaining 3 weeks of our course.

WHY EUROPE?

In this class we will speak at length and learn about Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli, J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford and Edwin Schrödinger, amongst others. These scientists were primarily from various European countries, and they all worked in European countries. By going to Europe as we learn about these scientists, we will gain a better understanding of who they were, what they were doing, and what were the results of their work. The scientists, and their invaluable contributions to our present understanding of physics, will become more “real” and human as opposed to “someone I once read about in some textbook.” To be successful scientists is to intimately know the work that preceded us, and to use our understanding of that work to progress further. This program/course will provide you with this opportunity for further enlightenment in the physics done during the 20th c. in Europe.
We will visit a variety of sites of interest both to the physics and engineering student (related to science and technology) as well as sites of historical and cultural interest in the broader context of the multifaceted liberal arts education we seek at West Chester University.

Another issue that should be noted is a national initiative to more successfully prepare students in higher education for what is called "Career Readiness". In essence, this is to ensure that graduating students have attained competencies in a number of areas to better prepare them for the workforce beyond college. A key element of this is Global or Intercultural Fluency. Upon graduation, you will be working in a global environment; your colleagues, contacts, clients and co-workers will come from a broad spectrum of countries and cultures. To better prepare yourself for a successful career, it is necessary to begin to experience and meet people from different countries and cultures while you are still on college. This is an excellent opportunity to start (or continue) that experience with classmates and friends.