General:
Physics 913 is a two-credit Special Topics course, targeted at graduate students in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Engineering with interest in the evolving interdisciplinary field of Nanoscale Science and Technology, often called Nanotechnology. In view of the fact that attendees are likely to have very diverse backgrounds, there are no formal course pre-requisites. Since behavior at the nanometer scale is governed by laws of quantum mechanics, I expect all participants to be familiar with its basic laws. Otherwise, the course will be self-contained.
By its nature, Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary field, building on latest progress especially in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Engineering. The ability of cross-disciplinary communication is absolutely crucial to achieve progress in the field. It is my intention to emphasize the basic understanding of the physical phenomena on the nanometer scale and to keep the formal treatment at a minimum. In this way, I hope to foster the ability of participants to communicate basic insights in Nanotechnology to scientists in other disciplines.
Web Information:
https://nanoten.com/tomanek/courses/PHY913/ contains the updated course information.
Instructor Information:
Prof. David Tomanek
4231 Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building
E-mail: tomanek@pa.msu.edu
Phone: +1-517-355-9702
Course Outline:
Lectures:
Mondays and Wednesdays 10:20 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. (no break)
(first Half of the Fall Semester)
1300 Biomedical and Physical Sciences (BPS) Building
(see
https://nanoten.com/tomanek/courses/PHY913/schedule.html
or the MSU web page
http://schedule.msu.edu/).
The first day of the course will be August 29, 2018.
The last day of the course will be October 17, 2018.
Office hours:
After class and by appointment.
Textbook:
I listed the "Guide through the Nanocarbon Jungle: Buckyballs, Nanotubes, Graphene, and Beyond" by David Tomanek as a required resource. This is not a textbook, but a valuable resource for scientists interested in carbon nanostructures. You can download the electronic version (e-book) for free as long as you are associated with MSU; free access is provided by the MSU Library. (Download your free version below the "FREE TO READ" button.) You may also find basic Solid State Physics textbooks such as "Introduction to Solid State Physics" by Charles Kittel, or Physical Chemistry textbooks such as "Physical Chemistry" by Walter J. Moore useful for the level the course will be presented at.
Homework and Pop Quizzes:
Instead of homework, to encourage reflection on and review of the material taught, short conceptual pop quizzes will be administered during the course.
Oral Student Presentations:
To demonstrate familiarity with the topic and ability to communicate concepts across discipline boundaries, each student in the course is expected to give an oral presentation on topics related to Nanotechnology (see https://nanoten.com/tomanek/courses/PHY913/Presentations.html).
Grades:
The grade point average used to determine the final grade will be based on the Pop Quizzes (50%), and the Oral Presentations (50%).
tomanek@msu.edu