This course is an introduction to quantum mechanics for students in physics and engineering. Techniques discussed include solutions of the Schrodinger equation in one and three dimensions, and operator and matrix methods. Applications include infinite and finite quantum wells, barrier penetration and scattering in one dimension, the harmonic oscillator, angular momentum, central force problems, including the hydrogen atom, and spin. Fall semester. Typical text: Quantum Physics by Gasiorowicz

This course is meant as the first in a two-course sequence on non-relativistic quantum mechanics for physics graduate students, with an emphasis on applications to atomic, molecular, and solid state physics. Undergraduate students may take this course as a Technical Elective. Topics covered include: review of Schrödinger wave mechanics; operator algebra, theory of representation, and matrix mechanics; symmetries in quantum mechanics; spin and formal theory of angular momentum, including addition of angular momentum; and approximation methods for stationary problems, including time independent perturbation theory, WKB approximation, and variational methods. Typical text: Quantum Mechanics by E. Merzbacher.

Kinetic theory: ideal gases, distribution functions, Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, Boltzmann equation, H-theorem and entropy, and simple transport theory. Thermodynamics: review of first and second laws, thermodynamic potentials, Legendre transformation, and phase transitions. Elementary statistical mechanics: introduction to microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical distributions, partition functions, simple applications, including ideal Maxwell-Boltzmann, Einstein-Bose, and Fermi-Dirac gases, paramagnetic systems, and blackbody radiation. Typical text: Reif, Statistical and Thermal Physics.  Fall semester.

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the major classes of engineering materials, their principal properties, and design requirements that serve as both the basis for materials selection, as well as for the ongoing development of new materials. This course is substantially differentiated from introductory materials courses by its very specific focus on materials whose use puts them in direct contact with physiological systems. Thus, the course begins with brief sections on inflammatory response, thrombosis, infection, and device failure. It then concentrates on developing the fundamental materials science and engineering concepts underlying the structure-property relationships in both synthetic and natural polymers, metals and alloys, and ceramics relevant to in vivo medical device technology.

This course follows the introductory course and covers advanced topics in the design, modeling, and fabrication of micro and nano electromechanical systems. The materials will be broad and multidisciplinary including: review of micro and nano electromechanical systems, dimensional analysis and scaling, thermal, transport, fluids, microelectronics, feedback control, noise, and electromagnetism at the micro and nanoscales; the modeling of a variety of new MEMS/NEMS devices; and alternative approaches to the continuum mechanics theory. The goal will be achieved through a combination of lectures, case studies, individual homework assignments, and design projects carried out in teams.