Degrees and Programs Engineering Physics
科学知识及其应用的快速增长对受过良好物理和工程训练的人产生了巨大的需求.
物理学家寻求对物质宇宙的基本理解. 工程师运用科学知识来设计和开发结构、机器和产品. 学生可以选择具有物理和工程两种核心成分的工程物理专业. 物理课程强调基础科学和数学对研究生学习或物理专业工作至关重要. The engineering courses, while not comprising a complete engineering program, provide a strong foundation for an engineering career. State-of-the-art instrumentation, including a dedicated engineering facility, enrich students' experience in the laboratory. 有机会参与物理和工程学院的研究.
Sample Schedule
Fall (17)
- PHY 21: General Physics I (4)
- PHY 22: General Physics Lab I (1)
- MA 9: Calculus I (4)
- EN 5: Engineering and the Liberal Arts (3)
- General Education (4)
- PEA 32: Fitness for Life (1)
Spring (17)
- PHY 23: General Physics II (4)
- PHY 24: General Physics Lab II (1)
- MA 10: Calculus II (4)
- EN 50: Statics and Engineering Software (3)
- General Education (4)
- PEA Elective (1)
MAYTERM (not required)
- Mayterm GE Elective (4) on campus or abroad
SUMMER
- Suggested research with Westmont faculty or REU
Fall (16)
- PHY 25: Modern Physics (4)
- MA 19: Multivariable Calculus (4)
- EN 40: Mechanics of Materials (3)
- General Education (4)
- PEA elective (1)
Spring (18)
- PHY 26: Modern Physics Lab (1)
- MA 40: Differential Equations with Linear Algebra (4)
- PHY 142/143: Circuits and Electronics with Lab (5)
- General Education (8)
SUMMER
- Suggested research with Westmont faculty or REU
Fall (16)
- PHY Elective (4)
- cs10:计算问题解决方案的设计与实现(4)
- General Education (8)
Spring (15)
- EN 120: Thermodynamics (4) or PHY 160: Thermodynamics (4)
- EN 080: Junior Design (3)
- General Education (8)
SUMMER
- Suggested research with Westmont faculty or REU
FALL (17)
- CHM 5: General Chemistry I (4)
- PHY 198: Research (1)
- General Education (12)
SPRING (17)
- PHY 131: Classical Mechanics (4)
- PHY 195: Senior Seminar (1)
- PHY 170: Advanced Physics Lab (1)
- EN 110: Fluid Mechanics (3)
- General Education (8)
Faculty Highlights
A nuclear physicist who takes astronomical photos
Career Paths
工程物理学位为成绩优异的学生进入物理或工程研究生院做准备. 他们学会逻辑思考和分析物理系统的客观行为，并获得特定的技术技能，为各种职业做好准备，如:
- Medicine
- Law
- Secondary or College-Level Teaching
- Church Ministry
- Technical Writing
- Patent Work
- Geophysical or Marine Exploration
- Medical Technology
CURRENT DEPARTMENT NEWS
GRANT EXPANDS SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER
韦斯特蒙特大学的一名研究人员获得了一笔资助，以进一步研究神秘暗物质存在的证据. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $200,000 grant to Ben Carlson, Westmont assistant professor of physics, 继续他在欧洲核子研究中心大型强子对撞机(LHC)的ATLAS实验工作, a particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the next step for his research, 在ATLAS上用新颖的触发器照亮半可见的希格斯玻色子,卡尔森寻找超越标准模型(BSM)的物理学证据, which might account for the presence of dark matter. Researchers say dark matter, which doesn’t appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, may account for about 85 percent of material in the universe. It’s extremely difficult to detect because it does not absorb, reflect or emit electromagnetic radiation including light.
来自NSF和世界各地其他机构的资金建造了大型强子对撞机和ATLAS, a large particle detector facility, as basic science tools. 2012年，大型强子对撞机发现了一颗质量接近125 GeV的希格斯玻色子, about the mass of a tungsten atom, 既代表了粒子物理学标准模型的最高成就，也暗示了它之外的东西,” Carlson says. “How can a light Higgs boson possibly survive huge, destabilizing quantum effects without new, undiscovered physics?”
大型强子对撞机最近开始了第三轮运行，能量更高，事件样本增加. 卡尔森说，BSM物理学的证据可能会在未来几年内出现.
这笔拨款允许韦斯特蒙特大学的本科生参与对大型强子对撞机数据的分析，并探索新的机器学习技术. Two Westmont students, Sean Ryan '24 and Chandler Baker '24, 正在日内瓦用ATLAS探测器收集数据，这是卡尔森监督的夏季研究的一部分.
The NSF, an independent federal agency with a budget of $8.8 billion in 2022, 促进科学进步，使美国保持在发现的前沿.
Engineering Physics Alumni Highlights
Christina Dubell ('21) was an outstanding student, musician, and leader at Westmont, exemplifying the Christian liberal arts. 她拥有工程物理和音乐双学位，同时担任韦斯特蒙特管弦乐团的首席小提琴手和我们的顶级弦乐四重奏的首席小提琴手，参加了许多音乐会和场地. 从她进入学院的一开始，她就被驱使着去完成每一个目标，既要掌握物理学的直觉和数学复杂性，又要掌握理解和制作美丽音乐的创造性和技术性工作. 她与Michael Everest教授共同完成了物理化学专业的重大荣誉项目“用“w - crds”测量蛋白质吸附”，并获得了2021年物理/工程和音乐系优秀研究生奖. 克里斯蒂娜目前正在德克萨斯大学攻读生物医学工程博士学位&M University.
Logan Hodgson ('21) 作为一名奥古斯丁学者来到韦斯特蒙特大学，离开时获得了工程物理的三重专业, Music, and Mathematics (not the easiest path to graduation). A brilliant student in his classes, 他也是一名出色的助教，许多学生都很依赖他. 他将对物理的不可思议的直觉理解与数学能力结合起来，处理了最难的计算. 他曾多次担任韦斯特蒙特管弦乐团的首席大提琴手，是顶级弦乐四重奏中非常活跃的室内乐演奏家. An accomplished researcher, 他还在拉斯康布雷斯天文台工作，分析CCD阵列中的热噪声，并开发跟踪小行星轨道的软件. 洛根还获得了2021年物理/工程和音乐系的杰出研究生奖. He is currently pursuing an M.S. in Electrical Engineering at Cal Poly SLO.
Faith Palombi ('21) excelled as an Engineering Physics major at Westmont. A gifted researcher, Faith与韦斯特蒙特大学物理学教授Robert Haring-Kaye和Michael Sommermann在核物理学和天文学的新研究项目上密切合作, respectively. In particular, 她对核物理研究的宝贵贡献使她成为最近提交的一篇论文的第二作者，以考虑作为常规文章发表 Physical Review C, the premier domestic journal for nuclear physics research. Her outstanding results were also on display as a poster presentation at the 2021 Westmont College Student Research Symposium. Faith目前在德克萨斯州奥斯汀的通用汽车公司担任软件工程师.
Bethany Sutherland (’12), a dancer and an artist, 他在韦斯特蒙特大学获得工程物理学学士学位, embracing both science and the arts. 她是圣巴巴拉成像系统公司的副项目经理.