Undergraduate Research
Encouraging and enabling student achievements is one of our primary goals at HWS. In the Physics Department, our students have opportunities to engage in Honors projects and independent studies both of which require students to actively engage in research. A recent sampling of research:
Magdy Gad ’19: Developing Detection of Blue Green Algae Using Drones Outfitted with Spectrometers
Ileana Dumitriu, Adviser
Scott Calnan ’17: Harvesting Wave Energy by Modifying the Anchor to Nautical Navigation Aids
Ileana Dumitriu, Adviser
Christopher Demas ’17: Modeling Algae Concentrations via Reflectance Spectroscopy for Remote Sensing
Ileana Dumitriu, Adviser
Tyler Hanzlik ’17: Levitation with Superconducting Electromagnets
Ileana Dumitriu, Adviser
Student Prizes
Albert Holland Prize for Public Presentations of Physics
The annual Albert Holland Prize is awarded to the winner of a competition for the best public presentation in physics by a Hobart or William Smith student. Students present a short 15-minute talk on a standard result in physics. They are judged based on the quality of their scientific content and the quality of their rhetorical skill. The winner receives a $500 prize.
The competition is always judged by three faculty members – one from the physics department, one from the English department, and one from another department.
Albert Edward Holland, for whom the prize is named, was president of the Colleges from 1966 to 1968. He was known for his vision, honesty, integrity and his remarkable skills in public presentation. He received a letter of commendation from the U.S. government for employing those skills in helping to save those imprisoned with him in a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines during World War II. While president of the Colleges, he was responsible for the establishment of Geneva Scholars Associates, which provides scholarship aid to students from the Geneva area.
Other Awards
Two awards are presented annually on both Charter Day and at the Ben Hale Dinner; the Outstanding Physics Major Prize ($100 is given), and the Physics Prize for First Year Students (a book is given).