UCR-HS Counselor Workshop

Harry W. K. TomChair, Physics and Astronomy Dept.UC RiversideDecember 2, 2009

WelcomeUCR Physics and Astronomy Dept

Leonid Pryadko, Outreach Committee ChairMichael Horton (RCOE)

Science Coordinator and AVID CoordinatorRichard Hall (SBCSS)

Science/Environmental Education CoordinatorMaria Simani

UCR Alpha CenterJing Shi

Chair, Physics Undergrad Advising Committee

Goals of WorkshopFind ways to Increase # HS students taking Physics up to State and National averagesDiscuss the barriers to more Inland Empire HS student taking PhysicsCreate Motivational Materials and Provide Assistance to HS CounselorsInform Counselors about UCR involvement with Physics teachersExplore Other Ways UCR Physics can help

Why should we increase # of HS students taking physics?

10 Reasons Why High School Students Should Take PhysicsInland Empire HS Physics enrollments lag State by 2X and lag nation by 3X

1. Physics is a core science discipline

Physics with Biology and Chemistry are the 3 Fundamental “Core” Science Disciplines

Your view of the world, nature, and how things work are incomplete without a knowledge of physics…as incomplete as if you skipped biology or chemistryPhysics, more than the other 2 core sciences, uses mathematics and computing which give it a precision, predictive power, and simulation power, that are unprecedented in human historyAll other science and engineering are based on biology, chemistry, physics and math—physics is required for all science and engineering majors in college

You are at an advantage if you have had a high school course in Physics

Physics should be the 3rd science course taken in HS

Physics is a CORE discipline: ALL science is based on 4 pillars: Math, Biology, Chemistry and Physics

UC requires 1 Life Science and 1 Physical Science and recommends a 3rd year of HS Science. Students are advised to take Biology, Chemistry…. 3rd choice should be PHYSICS.Physics is accepted as 3rd science course by UCAnatomy, Physiology, Earth Science are not core disciplines

2. Most modern technology involves physics.

Any technology involving electricity, magnetism, force, pressure, heat, light, energy, sound, optics, etc. comes from physics. Basic knowledge required for products like fertilizers, drugs, plastics, and chemicals comes from chemistry and biology, these items have to eventually be manufactured, and manufacturing is dominated by physics-based technology.

3. HS Physics is the Gateway to Physics, Engineering, and Computing Jobs and Careers

Physics along with Biology and Chemistry are the 3 Core Science DisciplineAll 3 use math, but Physics uses math and computing moreEngineering is based on Applied PhysicsHS Physics begins training students in quantitative science, applied math, and problem solving

4. The job market for people with skills in physics is stronger than for skills in biology and chemistry

Engineers are applied physicists and comprise the second largest profession in America (second only to teaching) with about 1.4 million members. By comparison, there are about 600 thousand medical doctors and only around 100 thousand biologists.

STEM Careers are dominated by Physics and Computer

1.65M

3.1M

Engineering and Computer Science sectors > Life Science/Chemistry sectors

1.1M

0.7M

Compare to other sectors: earth science, social science, math

5. Physics is required in college level science—student is at disadvantage without HS Physics

1 year of college level Physics is required for all other science majorsAt UCR Life-Science Physics is Calculus-basedIt is a gateway to upper division majors in biology, chemistry, earth science, environmental science, entomology, biochemistry, mathematics, statistics

Example: HS Physics is Important for Life Science Majors

All College Science Majors require a minimum of 1 year of College Physics—in UC this is a Calculus-Based Physics CourseLife Science majors take:

Freshman:1 year of Calculus1 year of General Chem

Sophomore:1 year of Organic Chem1 year of Intro Biology1 year of Physics (Calc based)

Junior:1 year of Biochemistry

Lower Division Requirements include Physics before moving into a specific biological majorJunior Transfer students must have completed Physics with a minimum GPA requirement

Success Rate in Physics 2 (for Life Science)

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.50

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

08W&08S (2B&2C) Mean vs 07F (2A) Grade

08W 2B Grade 08S 2C Grade

07F 2A Grade

Mea

n

6. Physics classes help polish the skills needed to score well on the SAT.

Physics classes provide practice in both algebra and geometry. These are the types of mathematics most likely to occur on the SAT. To work physics problems, students must be able to read and comprehend short paragraphs then develop problem solving strategies from them. Physics helps develop both math and verbal skills.

Physics is a whole brain subject requiring students to use both right and left brain regions for translating complex verbal information into pictures and finally into mathematical models in order to solve problems.

7. College recruiters recognize the value of physics classes.

College recruiters tend to be favorably impressed by transcripts containing challenging classes like physics. They know it is relatively easy to attain a high GPA by taking a light course load. Some technically oriented college programs will deny entrance to students who have not taken high school physics.

8. A knowledge of physics is helpful for understanding the arts.

Physics is the science of sound and is needed for understanding how musical instruments work. Physics is also the science of light and is key to understanding visual artwork including paintings, photograph, stage lighting, filmmaking, etc. Even literary works have been influenced by physics. William Faulkner, for example, used the symbolism of time dilation in The Sound and the Fury. Many commonly used expressions in everyday language come from physics, including quantum leap, free fall, light years, black holes, resonance, and being on the same wave length. 

9. Physics leads to a better understanding of politics, history, and culture because technology is so important.

Supply and use of water, energy resources, technology is the basis for civilizationCompetition for Resources, Defense and Military technology have shaped history (iron age, bronze age)Quantum Mechanics and Relativity 20th centuryGlobal warming

10. Physics offers a deep and unique perspective in itself

Physics has set the “scientific method” and has the most stringent requirements for hypothesis and test of hypothesis. Physics theories are not only tested 1000’s of times but a single contrary experiment can force the change of a theory

Classical Physics fell from 3 experimentsPhotoelectric effect, black body radiation spectrum, spectral lines from atoms

The (Accelerating) Expansion of the Universe signals a new Physics to include Dark Energy and Dark Matter

Summary of STEM job future1.5X more Physics-Related jobs than Life Science-related3X more Computer-Related jobs than Life Science-relatedLife Science and Chemistry jobs are 30% of STEM total

HS students who don’t take Physics are unlikely to pursue the majority (70%) of STEM careers

US Competitiveness: America Competes ActFirst University Engineering

Degrees, by selected country: 1985-2005

US has not increased number in 20 years, per capita Engineering BS has decreased despite Silicon Valley, Dot.com, Biotechnology

 Population (millions)

Engineering BS/year (1000) % per capita

USA 304 67 0.02%

China 1330 450 0.03%

S Korea 49 75 0.15%Japan 128 100 0.08%UK 61 21 0.03%

Germany 82 12 0.01%

Physics Majors World Wide

Physics generates the enabling technology, i.e., invention of laser, transistor, integrated circuit, magnetic memory, xray tomography, MRI imaging, PET

Impact of US Engineering and Physics competitiveness

US needs to increase per capita Engineering and Physics BS production to sustain its #1 technology position in a worldLack of US-trained engineers has forced hiring of large numbers of foreign-trained engineers. Engineering BS and PhD have excellent job prospects Threshold for good positions is “lower” in Engineering/Physics than for Medical School

US HS Physics Enrollments

31% of Public HS seniors have taken PhysicsVirtually 100% of Private HS seniors take Physics

Riverside County 2007-8Riverside Female Male  

Ethnic Group

Intermediate Algebra

Advanced Math

1st Year Chemistry

1st Year Physics

9-12 Enrollment

Intermediate Algebra

Advanced Math

1st Year Chemistry

1st Year Physics

9-12 Enrollment

Total 9-12 Enrollment

AM IND  60 (13.3 %) 37 (8.2 %) 44 (9.8 %) 12 (2.7 %) 451 40 (10.0 %) 27 (6.8 %) 24 (6.0 %) 11 (2.8 %) 399 850

ASIAN  365 (20.8 %)

575 (32.8 %)

426 (24.3 %) 143 (8.2 %) 1,751 392 (20.8

%) 580 (30.8

%) 403 (21.4

%) 207 (11.0

%) 1,885 3,636

PAC ISLD  57 (19.7 %) 33 (11.4 %) 56 (19.3 %) 6 (2.1 %) 290 42 (13.7 %) 29 (9.4 %) 42 (13.7 %) 6 (2.0 %) 307 597

FILIPINO  309 (22.4 %)

378 (27.4 %)

308 (22.3 %) 83 (6.0 %) 1,379 307 (22.2

%) 310 (22.4

%) 277 (20.0

%) 114 (8.2 %) 1,386 2,765

HISPANIC  4,569 (13.6 %)

3,182 (9.5 %)

3,690 (11.0 %)

691 (2.1 %) 33,623 3,907 

(11.1 %) 2,640

 (7.5 %) 3,012 

(8.5 %) 748 

(2.1 %) 35,256 68,879

AFR AM  839 (15.3 %) 517 (9.4 %) 881 (16.1

%) 104 (1.9 %) 5,471 744 (12.8 %) 358 (6.2 %) 708 (12.2

%) 106 (1.8 %) 5,818 11,289

WHITE  3,654 (17.9 %)

3,536 (17.4 %)

3,314 (16.3 %)

709 (3.5 %) 20,371 3,391 

(15.8 %) 3,274 

(15.3 %) 2,934

(13.7 %) 1,112

(5.2 %) 21,407 41,778

MULT./NO RESP 

181 (14.5 %)

175 (14.1 %)

212 (17.0 %) 35 (2.8 %) 1,244 166 (12.8

%) 163 (12.6

%) 168 (13.0

%) 51 (3.9 %) 1,292 2,536

County Total

10,034(15.5 %)

8,433 (13.1 %)

8,931(13.8 %)

1,783(2.8 %) 64,580 8,989

(13.3 %) 7,381

(10.9 %) 7,568

 (11.2 %) 2,355

(3.5 %) 67,750 132,330

State Total 172,404(17.6 %)

140,317(14.3 %)

143,066(14.6 %)

50,137(5.1 %) 979,886 159,922

(15.5 %) 128,241

(12.4 %) 127,588

(12.4 %) 56,632

(5.5 %) 1,032,653 2,012,539

Riverside Physics EnrollmentUSA: 31% of public HS graduates take PhysicsCA State: 21.2% of graduates take Physics (5.3%X4)Riverside: 12.6% of graduates take Physics (3.15%X4)

All Students:93% of State Average in Chemistry 60% of State Average in Physics

Female Students: 92% of State Average in Advanced Math95% of State Average in Chemistry 55% of State Average in Physics

Male Students: 88% of State Average in Advanced Math90% of State Average in Chemistry 64% of State Average in Physics

Slightly Lower for San Bernadino County

Enrollment by Ethnic GroupRCOE

38.5%

17.4%

7.4%

8.4%

Impact to IE Youth3X lower access to high tech education, jobs, and careers than national averageLess competitive for better 4-year colleges which look favorably on harder college prep Lack experience with quantitative science, applied math, physical intuition and technical problem solvingQuality of HS Physics teaching is lower because teachers do not teach Physics full time

Why College Bound need HS Physics

All Science and Engineering students must take and pass College Physics

Premeds-Biology majors need to take Physics 2nd year…at all UC’s Physics is Calculus-basedEngineers-Chemistry-Physics majors must take Calculus-Based Physics freshman year

Students are less likely to do well in College Physics if they have not taken HS Physics

Why College Bound needHS Physics

Non-science/engineering majors must take 1 Physical Science course—combined with HS Chemistry and HS Physics….barely sufficient for careers in technology sector in administration, sales, repair and service. HS Physics could be a significant fraction of total Physical Science education.

Female Student Enrollment

Physics Increases by Course

Physics as college prep

Physics Teaching Assignment

Teachers have more difficulty preparing when they are assigned primarily non-physics

What do Physicists do?Explore new phenomena and seek new fundamental understanding (physics-academia-research)Apply physics in new ways to other science and engineering disciplines (applied physics, biophysics, chemical physics, material science, academia-research)Apply physics to solve real world problems (nuclear physics, biomedical physics, materials physics, device physics, environmental physics—research--industry)

What do Physicists do?Use disciplinary skills in abstraction, model building, mathematics and computing to solve technical problems (production and manufacturing, stock market modeling)Use physics knowledge for business, technical sales, patent law, science administration, and policy (science, education, defense, environmental)Teaching at K-12 and higher levels

What Do Physics BS graduates do?

40% get immediate employment36% in Physics/Astronomy Graduate School20% in “other” Graduate Study

Medical/Dental/Health ProfessionalLaw (especially business or patent)Business (especially tech sector)Engineering (Electrical, Material Science, Mechanical, Chemical, Aeronautical)Chemistry & Physical ChemistryBiochemistry/Biology/Biophysics/ Bioengineering

BS Initial Employment

40% get jobs immediately

BS Private Sector and Salary

What do PhD’s vs BS’s do?Academia

Ph.D.’s teach at community colleges, state universities (CSU) and research universities (UC)B.S. teach K-12

GovernmentPh.D.’s do scientific research at national laboratories (LANL), administer science programs as science specialists (NSF), serve as scientific experts in government agencies (DOE)B.S. work as lab assistants in government labs, or serve in administrative roles in scientific agencies, or assist scientific experts in government labs.

What do PhD’s vs BS’s do?Industry

Ph.D.’s do scientific or engineering research (IBM, HP), provide intellectual property for companies, serve as technical managersB.S. work as physicist/engineer on current projects, assist Ph.D.’s on research projects as lab assistants or technicians, work in technical sales or production and production management.

Physicist work in Academia, Government, Private Industry and High Schools

Skills used by Physics PhD’s

Getting a PhD/Permanent JobBS degree 4 years[MSc program: typically 2 years can be terminal degree or prep for PhD—can apply to PhD program towards end of completion]PhD program: typical 6.5 years, 5-8 years range (theory shorter, experiment longer)

MSc is typically included along way in 2 yearsPostdoctoral Research Position: 2-5 years of additional “post-PhD” training, depending on field and desired job

Initial Employment for PhD’s

Ph.D. Starting Salary & Sector

Reasons for taking postdoc

Initial Employment by subfield

Ph.D. salaries (median age)

Paying for a PhD degreeAlmost all PhD granting programs in Physics provide financial aid

Teaching Assistantships (1-2 years)Fellowships (1-2 years)Graduate Research Assistantships (years 3-end)

Admission to a graduate program is essentially receiving a scholarship—provided you make satisfactory progress

Demanding undergraduate curriculum, good grades, GRE scores, undergraduate research participation/internships increase your chances

Job Sector Growth

Reasons to get a PhD at UC Riverside

Harry W. K. TomChair, Physics and Astronomy Dept.UC Riverside

Distinguished Faculty29 Faculty

Junior Faculty Awards5 National Science Foundation Career Award1 Sloan Research Fellow2 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award3 Dept of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator Award

18 Full Professor HonorsAPS Panofsky Prize (High Energy)Humboldt FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowship9 APS Fellows5 AAAS Fellows

Growing Graduate ProgramGraduate enrollment has grown from 66 to 109 in last 5 yearsExpected enrollment for Fall 2010 is 116 and Fall 2011 is 125.Entering class ~24 students, 10 foreign, 14 domestic provides critical mass for student cohort, student breadth, national and international diversity and full graduate curriculum

Full Graduate Curriculum29 graduate courses offered

26 each year, 3 courses in alternate years17 core courses (first year), and 12 electives

Ph.D. in Physics with Emphasis in 7 tracksNuclear and Particle PhysicsCondensed Matter, Surface, Optical Physics and BiophysicsAstrophysicsCosmology and Astroparticle PhysicsEnvironmental PhysicsMaterials and Nanoscale PhysicsAstronomy.

Research Infrastructure/Activities

~$7M Extramural Grants/yearSupport for > 20 Postdoctoral Researchers, 3-5 Research Scientists giving students 29 faculty and 25 additional PhD’s to train withWeekly Dept colloquium and topical seminars bring outside physicists and astronomers to campus

Condensed MatterNanoscale Science and EngineeringAstronomyHigh Energy

Graduate Program HighlightsOutstanding Multidisciplinary Training and Research Opportunities

For Condensed Matter with UCR Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering with faculty from Chemistry and Engineering CollegeFor Biophysics with UCR’s Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and BioengineeringFor Environmental Physics with joint MSc program with UCR Environmental Science

Graduate Program HighlightsHigh Energy and Relativistic Heavy Ion Physics programs highly leveraged with international collaborations at LHC, RHIC, SLAC, Fermi LabAstronomy program well-leveraged with UC telescopes (Keck and future TMT), Southern California astronomy infrastructure, and access to SpARCS and COSMOS survey data

7. College success for virtually all science, computing, engineering, and premedical majors requires passing physics.

Engineering is largely applied physics. Pre-medicine majors typically must take a 1 year course in Physics. About 25% of the science knowledge required for the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is based on physics. Studies indicate that a high quality high school physics course helps significantly reduce the failure rate in college-level physics. Students themselves typically indicate that high school physics is a significant factor in their ability to handle college-level physics material.