UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON-CLEAR LAKE

PHYS 6838: RESEARCH PROJECT AND SEMINAR

Spring, 2018

Meetings: M 7:00-9:50 PM, SSB 1100

Instructor: David Garrison, Ph.D.

Office: 3531 Bayou Bldg.

Phone: 281 283-3796

E-mail: garrison@uhcl.edu

Office Hours: TR 2:00-4:00 pm and by appointment

UHCL Emergency Hotline: 281 283-2221 (call this number to see if the university is closed for bad weather)

Prerequisites: You must be in your last 12 hours toward a Masters degree or this must be your last spring semester before finishing your degree.

Textbook: How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper by Robert A. Day and Barbara Gastel

Objectives: 1) Familiarize students with the general methods of attacking research problems. 2) Acquaint students with research taking place in physics and space science. 3) Give the students the opportunity to prepare and to present a research project orally and in writing.

Course format: 12 seminars by outside speakers and student presentations.

Method of evaluation: Before each talk, students should investigate the topic and come to class prepared to ask at least 3 questions. Students will prepare a research paper (in the form of a journal article) or a research (thesis) proposal on an acceptable topic in physics or space science and they will give an oral presentation on the same topic. Acceptable topics are very broad, but you should check with the instructor in case of doubt. The written paper will be weighted as 2/3 of the final grade; the oral presentation, 1/3. You must follow the guidelines for research papers that I will hand out. Criteria for evaluation are stated in the guidelines.

Attendance Policy: Students will maximize their learning experience by regularly attending class. You will be asked to sign an attendance roster at each class period. You get out of a course what you put into it.

Academic Honesty: All students should be aware of the university’s policy on academic honesty: I will be honest in all my academic activities and will not tolerate dishonesty.

Compliance with the American Disabilities Act (ADA): If you are certified as disabled and entitled to accommodation under the ADA, section 503, please notify the instructor as soon as possible. If you are not currently certified and believe you may qualify, please contact the UHCL Health and Disability Services office at 281 283-2627.

Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to 1) Understand how advanced scientific research is performed and 2) Communicate details of advanced physics and space-science research to a general audience both orally and in writing.

Spring 2018 UHCL Physics and Space Science Seminar Series Monday's 7-9pm
Date	Speaker Name	Speaker's Job Title	Title or Topic of Presentation
29-Jan	Jancy McPhee	Executive Director, SciArt Exchange	Science…So What?
5-Feb	Peter Brown	Research Scientist at Texas A&M University/Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics & Astronomy	Measuring the Universe with Exploding Stars
12-Feb	Wes Kelly	Consultant Engineer, Triton Systems, LLC	A Partially Re-Usable Horizontal Take-off and Landing Launch Vehicle - A Continuing Case Study
19-Feb	Allan Treiman	Assoc. Director, LPI	Venus' Radar-Reflective Highlands: Ferroelectric and Semiconductor Materials
26-Feb	Jonathan Kay	Post-Doctoral Researcher, LPI	Folding on Iapetus
5-Mar	Heath Skinner	Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Biologic modifiers of radioresponse
19-Mar	Steve Fitzgerald	Multi-physics Modeling and Simulation Lead	Multiphysics Modeling of Hyrdocarbon Leaks on the Gulf of Mexico Floor
26-Mar	Shaun Stewart	Senior Development Engineer, Intuitive Machines	Fusing Physics and Video Game Technology to Build a Commercial Drilling Training Simulator
2-Apr	Tim Crain	Vice President of Research and Development, Intuitive Machines	Design of an Automated Re-entry Vehicle for Priority Sample Returns
9-Apr	Georgiana Kramer	Staff Scientist, LPI	The Weather on the Moon and the Mystery of the Swirls
16-Apr	Steven Koontz	ISS System Manager for Space Environments	Spacecraft Charging: Hazard Causes, Hazard Effects, Hazard Controls
23-Apr	Craig Walton	LaMont Aerospace/President	ISS Utilization and the Commercialization of Space as a Resource
30-Apr	Student Presentations

SCE Oral Communication Rubric

Presenter Name__________________________ Reviewer_________________________ Total Score ______

Evaluation	4	3	2	1	Score
Bad Habits	Student exhibits two or fewer presentation bad habits such as pacing, stammering, hands in pockets, not engaging audience etc.	Student exhibits three or fewer presentation bad habits such as pacing, stammering, hands in pockets, not engaging audience etc.	Student exhibits four or fewer presentation bad habits such as pacing, stammering, hands in pockets, not engaging audience etc.	Student exhibits many presentation bad habits such as pacing, stammering, hands in pockets, not engaging audience etc.
Mechanics	Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors.	Presentation has no more than two misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	Presentation has three misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	Student's presentation has four or more spelling errors and/or grammatical errors.
Eye Contact	Student maintains eye contact with audience, seldom returning to notes.	Student maintains eye contact most of the time but frequently returns to notes.	Student occasionally uses eye contact, but still reads most of report.	Student reads all of report with no eye contact.
Elocution	Student uses a clear voice and correct, precise pronunciation of terms so that all audience members can hear presentation.	Student's voice is clear. Student pronounces most words correctly. Most audience members can hear presentation.	Student's voice is low. Student incorrectly pronounces terms. Audience members have difficulty hearing presentation.	Student mumbles, incorrectly pronounces terms, and speaks too quietly for audience in the back to hear.
Personal Appearance	Dressed and groomed appropriately.			Not dressed and groomed appropriately for such a presentation.
Technical Content	Content is technically sound, exhibits appropriate research, and depth is appropriate.	Content is technically sound but could exhibit more research and depth.	Content is not strong, research and depth are lacking.	Content is trivial, research and depth are not demonstrated.
Organization and logical flow	Student presents information in logical, interesting sequence which audience can follow.	Student presents information in logical sequence which audience can follow.	Audience has difficulty following presentation because of poor logical flow of information.	Audience cannot follow presentation because there is no logical flow of information.
Response to Audience Questions	Student demonstrates full knowledge (more than required) by answering all class questions with explanations and elaboration.	Student is at ease with expected answers to all questions, but fails to elaborate.	Student is uncomfortable with information and able to answer only rudimentary questions.	Student does not have grasp of information; student cannot answer questions about subject.
Meaningful Graphics and Visuals	Student’s graphics and visuals explain and reinforce screen text and presentation.	Student’s graphics and visuals relate to text and presentation.	Student occasionally uses graphics and visuals that rarely support text and presentation.	Student uses no graphics.
Time Management	Student completely covers topic within the allocated time leaving an appropriate amount of time for questions	Student adequately covers topic within the allocated time leaving an appropriate amount of time for questions	Student covers topic with slight content omissions, or exceeds or underutilizes time limits.	Student inadequately covers topic and exceeds or underutilizes time limits.
Presentation is appropriate for audiences in attendance and for objectives	Presentation communicates the presenters’ objectives, and uses language and words/jargon/acronyms appropriate to the audience	Presentation communicates the presenter's objective, but does not use language and words/jargon/acronyms appropriate to the audience	Presentation does not communicate the presenter's objective, but uses language and words/jargon/acronyms appropriate to the audience	Presentation does not communicate the presenters’ objectives, nor uses language or words/jargon/acronyms appropriate to the audience