Honors in Physics
Candidates for honors in Physics will be expected to pursue a more rigorous and extensive program than those merely concentrating in the subject.
- Candidates typically earn the Sc.B. degree, though in special circumstances an A.B. degree will be acceptable.
- All Sc.B. candidates are eligible for honors consideration without any special application procedure. During the student's eighth semester, the Physics concentration and honors advisors will review the student's grades in all mathematics and physics courses and compute a GPA. If this GPA is judged sufficiently outstanding (typically 3.3 or better), successful completion of the senior thesis is then the remaining requirement, including an oral presentation at the end of the eighth semester. This presentation will be evaluated by the thesis advisor, and the Physics concentration and honors advisors. If it is deemed satisfactory, the student will be awarded honors at graduation.
- Outstanding theses may be nominated for publication by The Wayland Press of Brown University.
Senior Thesis Information and Recent Theses
Senior thesis talks are given the Friday at the start of the reading period. Theses are submitted to the senior thesis advisor (STA) a week before this, and the final theses versions posted on the physics web site (electronic version required) a week after the talks.
Previous Theses
|
Student |
Research Topic |
Advisor |
|
2012 |
||
|
Adams, Arthur |
“Measurements of the Mass of the Top Quark Using the Lepton+Jets Decay Channel” |
Prof. Ulrich Heintz |
|
Alexander, Kate |
“Quantifying the Effects of Noise Peaks on Two-Point Correlation Functions in Ground-Based Lensing Data” |
Prof. Ian Dell’ Antonio |
|
Bensson, James |
“Quantum Computing with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance” |
Prof. Vesna Mitrovic |
|
Bodington, Natalie |
“Rectification Behavior of Junctions of Hubbard-Chains Using the Density-Matrix Renormalization Group” |
Prof. Brad Marston |
|
Cho, Minjae |
“Integrability Structure of Giant Magnons in Anti deSitter Space” |
Prof. Antal Jevicki |
|
Coogan, Adam |
“Search for the RS Graviton in 2.2 TeV Data at CMS” |
Prof. Meenakshi Narain |
|
Dodelson, Matthew |
“dS/CFT and the Wavefunction of the Universe” |
Prof. Antal Jevicki |
|
Hicks, William |
"U(1) Charges in Weakly-Coupled Free-Fermionic Heterotic String Models” |
Prof. David Lowe |
|
Huynh, Clarence |
“SN2011fe: A Standard Candle Examination of M101” |
Prof. Ian Dell’ Antonio |
|
Iadecola, Thomas |
“Anyonic Fabry-Pérot Interferometry in Quantum Hall Systems” |
Prof. Dmitri Feldman |
|
Lazo del Sol, Luis |
“Modifying Anodized Aluminum Oxide's Roughness on a Nanometer Scale for Thin-Film Superconductor Experiments" |
Prof. Jim Valles |
|
Lester, Ryan |
"Bulk Quantum Computing with NMR" |
Prof. Vesna Mitrovic |
|
Mickalide, Harry |
“Modelling the Swimming Mechanics of Paramecia through Analysis of Speed versus Viscosity in Three Separate Species” |
Prof. Jim Valles |
|
Nagy, Mark |
“Nanopore Measurements and Analysis of DNA Fragments” |
Prof. Sean Ling |
|
Neubauer, Marianna |
“The Effect of Simple Viscous and Visco-Elastic Media on Bacterial Motility” |
Prof. Jay Tang |
|
Provencher, Real Ryan |
“Symbology of Integrals in Loop-Level Feynman Diagrams” |
Prof. Marcus Spradlin |
|
Wagman, Michael |
“Simulating Turduckened Black Holes with a Discontinuous Galerkin Scheme” |
Prof. Jan Hesthaven |
|
2011 |
|
|
|
Abrahams, Max M. |
"Solar Prominence Analysis Techniques Utilizing Modern SDO Data" |
Prof. Savvas Koushiappas |
|
Beller, Jonathan E. |
"All-Electrokinetic Measurements of Slip Length in a Hydrophilic Silica Nanochannel" |
Prof. Derek Stein |
|
Bogdonoff, Emma Z. |
"Many Worlds and the Probability Problem" |
Prof. Dimitri Feldman |
|
Cackett, Kyle F. |
"Elementary NMR Quantum Computing in NaClO3" |
Prof. Vesna Mitrovic |
|
DiRe, Alexander P. |
"Scattering Amplitudes in N=4 SYM and N=8 Sugra" |
Prof. Marcus Spradlin |
|
Lynch, Maura E. |
"Superconductive Wires? Possibilities for Patterning Superconducting Thin-Films" |
Prof. Jim Valles |
|
Munger, Daniel N. |
"Lens Mass Reconstruction: Extra Information from Flexion" |
Prof. Ian Dell'Antonio |
|
Parker, Edward T. |
"Leading Singularities of Low-Loop Diagrams for Four-Particle Scattering in N=4 Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory" |
Prof. Marcus Spradlin |
|
Rodina, Laurentiu |
"Twistors, Grassmannians and Gravity" |
Prof. Anastasia Volovich |
|
Sangtawesin, Sorawis |
"Scattering Amplitudes in Yang-Mills Theory" |
Prof. Anastasia Volovich |
|
Sheffield, David G. |
"Search for Randall-Sundrum Gravitons Decaying into mu^+mu^- Pairs in s^1/2 = 7 TeV pp Collisions with the CMS Detector" |
Prof. Meenakshi Narain |
|
Shelton, Elijah R. |
"Entropic Nanofluidic Polymer Lensing and DNA Typecasting" |
Prof. Derek Stein |
|
Stayton, Erik L. |
"Determining Atmospheric Dilution from Observations: A Comparison of Ground-Based and Space-Based Weak Lensing Data for Clusters Abell 370 and Abell 1689" |
Prof. Ian Dell'Antonio |
|
Teich, Erin G. |
"Probing Molecular Dynamics using a Solid State Nanopore: DNA Capture and Recapture" |
Prof. Derek Stein |
|
Zelen, Ryan |
"Methods in the Computation of Feynman Diagrams" |
Prof. Marcus Spradlin |
|
2010 |
|
|
|
Dagon, Katherine E. |
"Statistics of a Solar Tachocline Model with Stochastic Forcing" |
Prof. Brad Marston |
|
Dragomir, Dan A. |
"Localized plasmom - polariton enhanced nonresonant photoionization" |
Nabil Lawandy, Research Professor |
|
Goldfarb, Alice F. |
"The CKM Matrix" |
Prof. David Lowe |
|
Hagerty, Nicholas W. |
"The Statistics of DNA Capture by a Solid-State Nanopore" |
Prof. Derek Stein |
|
Kirsch, Ariella |
"Calibrating Gravitational Lensing Missions with Simulations" |
Prof. Ian Dell'Antonio |
|
Kretschmer, Matthew R. |
"Slip-Enhanced Electrokinetic Energy Harvesting in Silica Nanochannels" |
Prof. Derek Stein |
|
Levy, Michael G. |
"Monte-Carlo Simulation of DNA in Nanopit Arrays" |
Prof. See-Chen Ying |
|
Mocanu, Laura M. |
"The Gravitational Wave Background from the Formation of Supermassive Seed Black Holes" |
Prof. Savvas Koushiappas |
|
Mossbarger, Benjamin J. |
"Experimental Studies of One-Dimensional Commensurate Macroscopic Crystal" |
Prof. Sean Ling |
|
Rudisaile, Eric L. |
"A Study of Nanoscale Roughness and Its Effects on Thin Film Circuits" |
Prof. Jim Valles |
|
Stekas, Barbara K. |
"Particle Diffusion in an External Field" |
Prof. Sean Ling |
|
Strecker-Kellogg, William E. |
"Implicit Integration of Geophysical Statistics" |
Prof. Brad Marston |
|
Werle, Nicholas |
"Einstein’s Big Break" |
Prof. Wendy Chun (MCM) and Prof. Brad Marston |