Research and Honors Opportunities for Physics Students

The Physics and Engineering Department offers a wide array of research opportunities on campus at Wheaton. 

students prof APSDPP Atlanta GA

Dr. Darren Craig and Dr. Jim Schroeder with Wheaton undergraduate students, Julia Nordstrom ('25), Emma VanderKooi ('25), Daniel Humphrey ('24), and Nathaniel Tarullo ('26) at the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics (DPP) in Atlanta, Georgia in October 2024. APS is the US national organization for physicists founded in 1899 and hosts a Global Summit for Physics, the largest physics research conference in the world. DPP 's, founded in 1959, primary aim "is the advancement and dissemination of the knowledge, understanding, and applications of plasmas." Plasma research includes the study of nuclear fusion, research in astrophysical plasmas and the practical applications of plasmas for different industries. Dr. Craig's primary research interest is magnetic fusion while Dr. Shroeder's primary research interest is astrophysical plasmas. Wheaton undergraduate students often travel with faculty to present posters on research topics in national scientific conferences.

Honors Thesis

Students with a GPA of 3.70 in the major and 3.50 overall may complete an honors thesis and receive an honors designation on their transcript upon graduation. An approved research project is a central component of the honors program. A written thesis summarizing the research project and its conclusions must be completed and defended orally to receive the honors designation. Contact the department chair for more details.

 

Summer Student Research Projects

Kyle Schauer
Mentor: Dr. Darren Craig
Objective: Create a database that collects and aggregates data from the new solar and battery installation to be used by faculty and students for research, class projects, or in class demos.

Maia Peterson
Mentor: Dr. James Schroeder
Objective: Learn the theory behind a Langmuir probe, then design and build one for the lab including its sweep circuit and feedthrough.

Josh Whelan
Mentor: Dr. James Schroeder
Objective: The main objective of our research was to construct a Langmuir probe, aka a probe that can tell us density and temperature of a plasma.

Nathaniel Tarullo
Mentor: Dr. James Schroeder
Objective: To simulate whistler wave behavior and particle interaction with a whistler wave in laboratory conditions. Whistler waves are an electromagnetic wave found in plasmas which we wanted to understand better along with particle interactions with them in the laboratory. They have already been studied and simulated in space, but as far as we know, no research simulating their behavior in the lab.

 

External Research Opportunities (REU)

Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) programs exist at many institutions, typically in the summer with application deadlines normally in December-February. The department provides an annual REU info night for students in the fall semester, maintains for students a collection of REU programs with links to their applications, and provides advising for students interested in applying for these opportunities.