Topics

Here is last year's list of possible topics (with small modifications); suggestions for additions to the list are welcome. Note that the course contents have changed.

• Fluid mechanics related topics:
  • Wind shear. What is it? Dangers? Detection?
  • Supersonic commercial flight. National Aero-Space Plane. Technical, economic, and political issues.
  • Mathematical models of traffic flow. Fluid analogies.
  • Geomagnetism. The earth's magnetic field. Dynamo models.
  • Physics of sports (should be more narrowly defined).
  • Fluid mechanics of the circulatory system. Artificial valves, hearts.
• Materials science related topics:
  • Superconductors--magnetic levitation (MAGLEV trains), energy storage, medical applications (SQUIDS) (should pick one).
  • Fast semiconductors (such as GaAs) and devices. Quantum engineering--quantum wells, quantum wires, quantum dots.
  • Photonics.
  • Materials issues in prosthetic design.
  • Liquid crystals and liquid crystal displays. Science and technology issues.
  • Solar energy and solar cells. Technology and economic issues.
  • Physics of earthquakes. Earthquake prediction.

If you can't decide on a topic from this list, I'm happy to consider alternatives. Also, you will probably want to refine the topics somewhat after you've dome some research. Each group needs to collectively decide upon a topic SOON.