What students, faculty, and recent graduates say about Physics at Principia.

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Mind-boggling, practical, fun—and a raw challenge

"After you've done a physics major," remarks a junior, "nothing seems impossible anymore." A senior finds the physics major "fun because of the raw challenge, the demand for precision, completeness, and excellence." Another junior physics major who also has minors in math and computer science says, "We touch on a lot of really mind-boggling topics—like black holes—but we also get to find out why everyday things work." A senior with a studio art minor points out that "it takes a real commitment to the subject to be able to do well. I've been able to dedicate myself to projects in other classes and see them all the way through to completion because I've been trained to do that in physics."

Faculty mentors encourage individual study

"The professors here make you think on your own," says a junior, "and not just plug in numbers to come up with an answer. There's also a push toward individual research." Another junior physics major with minors in math and earth science says he enjoys his physics classes because of the individual attention from professors "who are really into what they're teaching and ready to help you at any time." A senior who has a special interest in the history of science and cultural development issues discovered, "It's like learning a foreign language, a language which describes reality. In order to perform physics effectively, you have to learn the vocabulary and grammar, just plug away until you get it."

Professional networking puts students where the action is

One student had been concerned that he might not be learning all he should at Principia. However, after spending part of Principia's 6-week winter break working on projects at Cal Tech, he said, "I found out what is actually going on in the work place, and what I've been learning at Principia is definitely applicable." He has since arranged a summer internship with a planetary scientist at Cal Tech and will be working on a camera studying Mars. Another student worked with a specialist in musical acoustics at Northern Illinois University the summer before his senior year. In addition, the professors are actively involved in professional associations and have connections with researchers at institutions like NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Through this network, Principia science students have set up internships with leading scientists on projects such as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) or the Hubble Space Telescope.

The power of observation

"Everyone always wonders and ponders why things work and how things work, and I have that knowledge now," says a junior physics major. "There's incredible creativity in physics," says a professor, "but that creativity always has to be confronted with the facts as you know or observe them. The ultimate benefit from this process is the development of rigorous mathematical thinking and the power of observation, but physics students also tend to have really good success in graduate school and at work. They're in demand, too, in places you might not expect—like investment banking on Wall Street." A professor notes, "In politics, law, and in the home, we need people who understand science. We need politicians better equipped to help the government make environmentally sound judgments about pollution, automobiles, electric vehicles, proper use of the atmosphere, and especially people who understand nuclear technology well enough to help guide our country through the vast morass of nuclear regulations. We need people in business who understand the laws of exponential growth, who won't be fooled by a business ethic which says we have to have a certain amount of growth every year."

Flexibility and opportunity

"The physics major at Principia is flexible, as well as challenging," says a senior who is also a history major. "That allows us to do other activities. Among my friends who are physics majors, one is captain of the rugby team, another takes major roles in the theatre productions, and another is president of her house. All these activities let us integrate what we've learned as physics majors into the rest of life. We get to reflect on what we're learning." A recent graduate has similar thoughts when it comes to his current situation. "My liberal arts background is helpful on my job, because although I'm a programmer with highly technical work to do, I also travel to represent JPL in meetings with high-ranking military people and other customers of the software that we produce. Being able to write, to give a presentation, and to work in a group are extremely important both to my usefulness to my employer and to my advancement. Recently I was sent to Germany to work on a project, which was pretty exciting." This alumnus has now begun a master's program in the engineering department of the University of Southern California.

Springboard to the world

"I was thrilled to get into such a prestigious school, straight out of Principia," says an alumnus who is now in a Ph.D. program at Cal Tech. "I worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory here during three vacations, and it was Principia faculty contacts that helped me find those jobs. I got to do hands-on research as an undergrad, real science with real scientists, and that was good." An alum who has a research assistantship at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana caught up quickly in technical knowledge that some other grad students brought with them from technical schools. "Because I had experience programming and working with Mathematica at Principia, I use those skills as a daily part of my research work and in classes." Another recent grad reports, "The Principia physics, math, and computer science faculty, as teachers, have a much higher commitment level than many teachers I've met at more technically oriented institutions. They understand how to have a class teach itself. They teach students to be better learners. What you gain from them educationally is very valuable later on."