What are some unique ideas for a physics final year project?

[virtueboy15]

I'm just going to my second year in the university as a physics major and I'm trying to beat time by starting research on my final year project(something new and involves both theoretical and experimental ideas) but i don't seem to get any ideas.please help.

 

[nicksauce]

Are you working with a professor on this? (I assume so). You should look at the websites of professors in the department, learn about their research, see what you find anything interesting, and then go talk to the professors to learn more about their research.

 

[virtueboy15]

Thanks,but I'm suppose to research and come up with one myself and not to use the professor to work my way to get a score.

 

[xmavidis]

Are you intending to work by yourself? Of course, that's possible, but, I think that a guided start could be better.

 

[tmc]

The final year project most likely involves having a prof as a supervisor, to help guide you and help you define a proper project. One of the hardest things about research is finding good projects, and that's why good advisors can be very useful.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Thanks,but I'm suppose to research and come up with one myself

Then why are you asking us?

If selecting a topic supposed to be entirely on your (own, which, by the way, is almost certainly not the case), you shouldn't be talking to us. If it's not, you should be talking to the faculty.

You also don't need the topic two years before you start the project.

 

[virtueboy15]

Well,i feel preparing early will be an advantage to me.

 

[Choppy]

I think it can be a good exercise to at least start thinking about it as this stage. That way you can spend time reading up on possible projects, and investigating different sub-fields. But the reason most students don't take this on until their final year is because they're still developing the tools they need.

Some things you might want to try are talking to professors, graduate students, TAs, and current senior students about what projects they have seen in the past or are currently working on. You can also start reading journals such as Physics Today to get a feeling about some of the more interesting research currently under way in the world.

Other things to keep in mind might be to look for a project that is going to give you a marketable skill (programming, experience with electronics, etc.) for when you graduate and perhaps an opportunity that could extend into graduate work.

 

[tmc]

Considering it's been five months, I hope he's found something by now