NSF Org:	DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education
Recipient:	UNIVERSITY OF ST THOMAS
Initial Amendment Date:	September 8, 2003
Latest Amendment Date:	June 23, 2004
Award Number:	0311432
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Duncan E. McBride DUE  Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU  Directorate for STEM Education
Start Date:	September 15, 2003
End Date:	August 31, 2006 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$96,832.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$96,832.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2003 = $96,832.00
History of Investigator:	Paul Ohmann (Principal Investigator) prohmann@stthomas.edu Adam Green (Co-Principal Investigator) Paul Feng (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of St. Thomas 2115 SUMMIT AVE SAINT PAUL MN  US  55105-1048 (651)962-6038
Sponsor Congressional District:	04
Primary Place of Performance:	University of St. Thomas 2115 SUMMIT AVE SAINT PAUL MN  US  55105-1048
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	04
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	MEQUD34ZB1Y6
Parent UEI:	MEQUD34ZB1Y6
NSF Program(s):	CCLI-ADAPTATION AND IMPLEMENTA
Primary Program Source:	app-0403
Program Reference Code(s):	9178, SMET
Program Element Code(s):	742800
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.076

ABSTRACT

Physics (13) The project incorporates computer modeling in the upper-division physics curriculum. Specifically, modules are adapted from research articles in the literature and developed in the Electricity and Magnetism, Optics, Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics, and Quantum Mechanics courses. The purpose of developing these modules is to:

Increase the applicability of the course material by introducing substantive, real-world. problems into the upper classes,
Improve understanding through direct student participation in all aspects of problem solving,
Build the computational skill set of the students.

These modules address a need identified by the physics community, that the majority of Physics Bachelor recipients employed in certain technical fields felt that their undergraduate preparation was lacking. These modules address this concern by developing computational skills to attack substantive problems, thereby providing an educational experience complementary to the analytical and laboratory skills developed in other parts of the curriculum. The emphasis on computation has a potentially broader impact: Multiple tracks within the major (for example computational physics) provide graduates with marketable skills and also encourage students with broad scientific interests to major in physics. Furthermore, expanding the ways in which students discover how physics is done appeals to a broader student audience than usual.

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