Physics 157:  Special Topics in Biological Physics: Macromolecular Machinery

A one quarter (4 unit) course focused on physical reasoning as applied to the understanding of biological phenomena at the molecular and cellular level. Develop an intuition for entropy and its useful consequences. Examine physical constraints that sculpt the aqueous, sub-micron world Learn how macromolecules function as machines at the interface between physical and chemical forces. Topics covered include dissipation, diffusion, entropic elasticity, self-assembly, allostery, cooperativity, enzyme kinetics and mechano-chemistry of single and multi-molecular devices. Connections to contemporary research and ground-breaking experiments will be emphasized. Familiarity with basic thermo-dynamics and statistical mechanics helpful but not required.

Physics 257:  Special Topics in Biological Physics: Broad Survey

This is a one quarter course (10 weeks) offered sporadically, upon demand.  The course aims to familiarize entry-level physics graduate students with modern Molecular and Cellular Biology.  The first two weeks is lecture format and briefly surveys the length, time, and energy scales, and the materials, processes and systems relevant to biological phenomena at the cellular level.  The rest of the course draws from contemporary articles in Science, Nature or similar journals which exemplify modern biological physics research.  The articles are used to motivate lectures and discussion of vocabulary, technique, experimental strategy and physical phenomena.  Topics covered in the past include: bacteria chemotaxis and biochemical network architecture, molecular motors and thermal ratchets, molecular clocks and sequence alignment, protein structure and conformational disease.

Physics 260J: Physics Circus

The Physics Circus is a K-12 outreach program supported by the UCSB Chancellors' Funds for new innovative outreach programs. A group of enthusiastic UCSB Physics Department Graduate and Undergraduate Students take a collection of Demonstration Experiments on the road to local schools and present an action packed learning experience.

INT 94BE: Freshman Seminar - Physics Circus

This seminar will involve freshmen in presenting physics demonstrations and experiments at local schools as part of an established outreach program. In the process of providing a valuable learning experience for K-12 students, freshmen will get a hands-on head start on concepts central to lower division physics courses.

Physics 128:    Advanced Lab

This is a two quarter course (20 weeks) offered in the Fall and Winter every year.  The course aims to teach Senior Physics majors basic experimental skills in the context of reproducing some landmark results of 20th century Physics.  The experimental skills include:  how to keep a laboratory notebook, how to troubleshoot an experimental set up, how to use common equipment, how to recognize and quantify design limitations of experimental apparatus, how to read a scientific paper, how to write a scientific paper, and how to give a short scientific talk.  Experiments offered include:  Colloidal Crystallography, Dynamic Light Scattering, Flame spectroscopy, Holography, H-D Isotope Shift, Laser Properties, Mossbauer effect, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Spatial Filtering, Surface Plasmon Excitations, X-ray Diffraction, and Zeeman effect.

Physics 5: Thermodynamics, Atomic & Solid State Physics

In the lecture portion of Physics 5 we will immediately move beyond the subject matter of Physics 4 and the 5L laboratory exercises. We will begin back in the macroscopic world, and consider how to explain and predict phenomena you see, hear and feel everyday involving fluids, heat, vibrations and sound.  Armed with these fundamentals, we will venture once again into the realm of modern physics and probe deeper into nature of the materials that support your everyday phenomena with a survey of atomic and solid state physics.