Mixing physics and engineering?

[electrifice]

May I ask, leright, which college you attend? You have the right of it... that is exactly what my dilemma between physics and engineering is. And I have no problem with getting the degree in five years instead of four, I think it has advantages well worth the extra year. Coincidentally, in engineering the disciplines I favor most are electrical, mechanical and aerospace, but mostly electrical. I'm thinking that a double major is the best option. Does anyone know what are some good undergrad institutions for applied physics and engineering in California? (Other than the regular Caltech, Stanford group). And particularly the UCs?

 

[alfredblase]

hmmm it seems that a degree in applied physics and engineering is a sensible career option for anyone that is worried about employment at the end of their degree; assuming that such a degree could lead to certified engineering status.. is that the case?

 

[leright]

May I ask, leright, which college you attend? You have the right of it... that is exactly what my dilemma between physics and engineering is. And I have no problem with getting the degree in five years instead of four, I think it has advantages well worth the extra year. Coincidentally, in engineering the disciplines I favor most are electrical, mechanical and aerospace, but mostly electrical. I'm thinking that a double major is the best option. Does anyone know what are some good undergrad institutions for applied physics and engineering in California? (Other than the regular Caltech, Stanford group). And particularly the UCs?

I go to Lawrence Technological University, in Southfield Michigan. It is a small (~5000 students, ~3000 being ugrad), little known university outside of Michigan (but well known to industry in Michigan...and there's lots of industry in southeastern michigan). However, it is a good school for learning, because the professors aren't super focused on research. Also, when it comes time to apply to graduate schools, I will have a lot of backing from the department chairs and my professors, since it is such a tight nit school. The school is about half engineering and 40% architecture. The 10% is the other majors (natural sciences, business, psych, humanities, etc...)

The school is also growing quite rapidly, and it is investing quite a bit on research endeavors (government is funding a new center for innovative materials research here, which should be completed in about a month.) Also, a new student services center is nearly complete, and there's going to be a large campus beautification program starting this spring. They also plan on putting up a third dorm.

I don't think the double major in physics and engineering is a bad idea at all. I am doing it for many of the same reasons you are considering it.

 

[Astronuc]

Here's an example of someone mixing engineering and physics

Professor Weston Stacey received his PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966. He then worked in naval reactor design at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and led the fast reactor theory and computations and the fusion research programs at Argonne National Laboratory. In 1977, he became Callaway Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he has been teaching and performing research in reactor physics and plasma physics. He is the author of six books and about 250 research papers. He led the international INTOR Workshop which defined the design features and R&D needs for the first fusion experimental reactor, for which he received the US Dept. of Energy Distinguished Associate Award. Professor Stacey is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society and of the American Physical Society and is the recipient of, among other awards, the Seaborg Award for Nuclear Research and the Wigner Reactor Physics Award from the American Nuclear Society.

Wiley - http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-3527405860,descCd-authorInfo.html

Many scientists and engineers did mix physics and engineering in the 50's and 60's and many got degrees in the hybrid Engineering Physics.

It is probably easier for nuclear engineers to mix in physics, as introductory physics is often part of the NE curriculum.

In my case, I started in physics with a nuclear and astrophysics background, but migrated to nuclear engineering.

For a program in Engineering Physics - see http://www.rpi.edu/dept/mane/deptweb/index.html

And check out ZapperZ's "So You Want To Be A Physicist"
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=51406&page=7 Starting with Post 96. I could easily change physicist to engineer and the journey is much the same.

 

[leright]

Here's an example of someone mixing engineering and physics

Wiley - http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-3527405860,descCd-authorInfo.html

Many scientists and engineers did mix physics and engineering in the 50's and 60's and many got degrees in the hybrid Engineering Physics.

It is probably easier for nuclear engineers to mix in physics, as introductory physics is often part of the NE curriculum.

In my case, I started in physics with a nuclear and astrophysics background, but migrated to nuclear engineering.

For a program in Engineering Physics - see http://www.rpi.edu/dept/mane/deptweb/index.html

And check out ZapperZ's "So You Want To Be A Physicist"
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=51406&page=7 Starting with Post 96

It is easy for most engineering disciplines to double majorin engineering and physics. All engineering disciplines require the same introductory physics as the physics majors. For a double major in EE and applied physics at my school, it is about 25 credits beyond the EE degree, which is certainly bearable.

And many schools still offer the engineering physics degree, but usually it is really just a 'physics' degree, with a concentration in engineering physics.

 

[electrifice]

Nuclear Engineering?

More than anything, your replies make me excited about the possibilities in college. A double major in physics and engineering seems like almost exactly the kind of education I want. The previous two posts mentioned nuclear engineering and its relatively greater connection to physics than other engineering disciplines. Is nuclear engineering a developing field? For instance, electrical engineering is very useful, it has great applicability, and there is a lot of development in that field. However, considering the decline in the government's interest in nuclear energy (due to its costs, etc.), is NE still a developing field? What kind of things could future NE find themselves doing?

 

[Astronuc]

More than anything, your replies make me excited about the possibilities in college. A double major in physics and engineering seems like almost exactly the kind of education I want. The previous two posts mentioned nuclear engineering and its relatively greater connection to physics than other engineering disciplines. Is nuclear engineering a developing field? For instance, electrical engineering is very useful, it has great applicability, and there is a lot of development in that field. However, considering the decline in the government's interest in nuclear energy (due to its costs, etc.), is NE still a developing field? What kind of things could future NE find themselves doing?

At the moment, with the cost of fossil fuels increasing along with the demand for electrical energy/power, we may see a resurgence in nuclear energy, i.e. more plants.

In the nuclear industry, we are now laying the groundwork and establishing the fundamental technical basis for advanced nuclear energy systems. A big challenge.

Then there is the possibility down the road of nuclear power and propulsion systems for spacecraft and distant places.