Physics Department SIP Guidelines
Nature of Physics Department SIP’s:
Senior Individualized Projects supervised by the Department of Physics can be
done by any student, however, only those majoring or occasionally minoring in
Physics will be able to meet departmental requirements. In most cases the SIP
involves doing research in physics or a very closely related field either under
the direction of a Kalamazoo College faculty member or a research group off
campus. Appropriate off campus opportunities include research at national labs,
REU programs at colleges and universities, research with individual faculty
or research groups at other colleges and universities, and research labs in
industry. Students interested in high school teaching normally do a 3 unit SIP
of student teaching organized by the Education Department. Other possible SIP’s
include developing new materials for physics education and independent projects
which are not part of an ongoing research program.
SIP Structures:
A. Summer 1-unit SIP: A reasonably complete draft is due on the first day of
the Fall quarter. The final draft due by Friday of week 2 of the Fall quarter.
B. Summer-Fall 2-unit SIP: If done off campus, the actual research is done over
the summer and the write-up is completed in the Fall. A reasonably complete
draft is due by Monday of tenth week of the Fall quarter. The final draft is
due by Friday of finals week of the Fall quarter.
C. Summer-Winter 2-unit SIP: A reasonably complete draft is due by Monday of
tenth week of the Winter quarter. The final draft is due by Friday of finals
week of the Winter quarter. [Note: A Summer-Winter SIP is an unusual quarter
combination for physics SIPs, and will be approved only in special cases warranted
by the nature of the research project.]
D. Fall 1-unit SIP or Winter 1-unit SIP (uncommon for Physics SIPS): The project
is performed on campus. A reasonably complete draft is due the first day of
the following term, and the final draft is due by Friday of week 2 of the following
term.
E. Fall-Winter 2-unit SIP (rare for Physics SIPS): The project is performed
on campus. A reasonably complete draft is due by Monday of Winter tenth week,
and the final draft is due by Friday of Winter finals week.
F. Student Teaching SIP in Fall, Winter, or Spring term: 3 units.
NOTE: It is expected that you and your departmental SIP advisor
will have gone through several iterations of your write-up prior to you producing
a "reasonably complete" draft.
Planning for your SIP:
Studying abroad for two terms in the junior year: If you are considering
doing work on your SIP during the summer between your junior and senior year,
then you must collect materials before you leave on study abroad, and
you must apply for off-campus opportunities while you are abroad.
All other situations: You must collect materials during the Fall of your
junior year and usually application deadlines occur during the Winter term.
Course planning: If you will be doing an experimental SIP you should
have taken Phys. 370-380 beforehand. If you will be doing a computational SIP
then you should take CS 110 before starting your SIP.
For any SIP you pursue, you should read relevant articles on the topic of the
SIP during the term before you start your SIP. Ask your SIP supervisor for suggestions
on what to read. If you do an off-campus SIP, make sure your supervisor understands
that your work is part of a Kalamazoo College requirement.It is essential that
you learn about the physics behind what you are doing, and not just perform
tasks assigned to you. Ideally, experimental projects should expose the student
to all stages of research, including experimental conception and design, equipment
construction and testing, data acquisition and analysis, and the effective communication
of the method and results to peers. Computational projects should also expose
the student to all stages of research including problem conception and relationship
to real systems, program writing and testing, data acquisition and analysis,
and the effective communication of the method and results to peers.
Before you leave campus or start your SIP you must fill out and sign a SIP contract,
which should be handed in to the Department Chair.
SIP evaluation:
Soon after you hand in your final draft, your SIP will be read by the
members of the Physics Department, and you will be given an oral exam by the
Physics Department about your SIP. Usually, you will be asked to make changes
for your final write-up, which will be due within two weeks of your oral exam.
SIP’s are graded Honors, Pass, and Fail. Your SIP will be evaluated on
three pieces of evidence:
1. Your write-up;
2. Your oral exam with the Physics Department faculty;
3. An evaluation from your SIP advisor.
To earn a grade of "pass" for your SIP, you must demonstrate a clear
understanding of your research and demonstrate your individual contribution
to your project or team project. An important component of the evaluation will
be your success at integrating your knowledge of physics from coursework into
your research project. The quality of the writing in your SIP will also be important.
In addition to the criteria for passing, to earn a grade of "honors"
for your SIP, you must demonstrate evidence of originality in your contribution
to the physics or engineering associated with your project or team project,
and must produce an exceptionally well-written SIP write-up.
SIP Presentation:
All physics majors must give a 20–30 minute oral presentation on their
SIPs. This is usually done in the Spring term of the senior year and should
be directed toward sophomore and junior physics majors. If you do a SIP in another
department, this requirement may be met by public presentations in the other
department. All junior and senior physics majors are strongly encouraged
to attend SIP presentations.
Honors in the Department:
Honors in Physics is based on three criteria: (1) SIP evaluation (2) performance
in coursework beyond the introductory sequence, and (3) performanace on the
departmental comprehensive exam. To obtain honors, normally at least two of
the above criteria must be honors level work (i.e. honors in the SIP, grades
of A in the coursework, and Pass with Distinction on the comprehensive exam).
If you do a SIP outside the Physics Department, you must show exceptional work
in the other two criteria.
Style Guidelines:
The SIP should be neatly typed on a computer using the style of most physics
archival journals, as specified in the AIP Style Manual which is available for
perusal in the physics office. The main text (exclusive of figures)
of a Physics SIP should total about 15to 25 pages. In addition there will be
a bibliography and reference list and there may be computer programs, a glossary,
complex derivations, etc. which appear in the appendices. Each figure should
be placed immediately after its first reference in the text, and each figure
must have a figure caption.
Every SIP should explain the nature of the system investigated, the relevant
physics, the methods used to study the system, the results obtained, and an
evaluation of the results. In most cases you will be working with other people
on your research and your contribution will be a part of a larger effort. The
SIP can discuss other work if it’s needed to understand your contribution,
but you must make clear what part of the project was yours. This can be done
in an introduction or preface. Write your SIP so that it will be understandable
to another senior physics major.