![]() ![]() To learn more about the physics major, watch these short videos of physics majors discussing their experience at UC Davis. “I think one of my favorite parts of being a physics major is the fact that you were never alone if you needed help on something,” Baldwin-Pulcini said. The Physics Club mounts an award-winning Picnic Day show, and the Astronomy Club organizes viewing events. Students have their own room in the physics building for study groups and meetings. degree in applied physics with specializations available in computational physics, chemical physics, materials science, physical oceanography, atmospheric physics, geophysics, and physical electronics.Īs one of the smaller majors on campus, physics boasts a tight-knit, supportive community, Knox said. with an emphasis in astrophysics and an A.B. Undergraduate physics at UC Davis offers three options: a comprehensive bachelor of science a B.S. The trio play on a men's softball team through the City of Davis, consisting of players from the Physics Department. Physicists Brian Lemaux, Andrew Bradshaw and Daniel Cebra pose for a photo in their “Bad News Bosons” team jerseys. In astronomy and astrophysics, students also can work with professors who observe space with the world’s most powerful telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. There are opportunities to get involved in real-world experiments on equipment that will become part of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN or next-generation nuclear weapon detection systems. Usually a student interested in joining a research group contacts the professor directly. Many UC Davis professors include one or more undergraduates in their research groups, Knox said. Dhaliwal now works for an aviation company in Mountain View, California. “The work I was doing in the lab on the software and hardware side was exactly what I was doing at my first job, just on a bigger scale,” he said. As an undergraduate, Dhaliwal worked with Professor Mani Tripathi on data collection and acquisition for dark matter detection. in physics, you need to be active in research or a club where you’re building something and learning something new,” he said. Research opportunities in physicsĭhaliwal said he boosted his marketable skills through undergraduate research. “I remember looking at electrical components, and I kept asking really basic questions about how they work. Vik Dhaliwal (B.S., physics, ’16) started out as an electrical engineering major and switched to physics. While Baldwin-Pulcini went into engineering from physics, another recent UC Davis grad took the opposite route. “I think physics gave me a good foundation I can build on for engineering,” she said. As a systems engineer, Baldwin-Pulcini focuses on the flight termination system, which is deployed if the rocket veers off course after launch. She works for Firefly Aerospace, a startup in Austin, Texas, that is building a new rocket for the small satellite industry. in physics in 2016, is pursuing a career in the space industry. “Physics students are constantly being engaged in technical problem solving,” Knox said.Īccording the American Physical Society, more than 60 percent of bachelor-degree holders find their first post-graduate jobs in the private sector, with about half of those in computer and information systems and engineering, and another 25 percent in careers outside of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).Īlumna Bethany Baldwin-Pulcini, who earned her B.S. But what makes physics majors valuable to employers is the emphasis on solving problems and mastering hands-on experiments. As a physics major, your studies will range from the very smallest elementary particles, to the matter that surrounds us, to the structure and evolution of the entire universe. (Photo courtesy)Īt the most fundamental level, physics explores what the universe is made of and how it works. Bethany Baldwin-Pulcini sits in the cockpit of a plane. ![]()
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