8U Research Project PHYS6487 (or PHYS6488 for a S2 start)
and
4U of compulsory coursework (List B, all in S1)
and
4U of coursework chosen from List C (all in S2)

[Attention is also drawn to the Graduate Diploma in Science (Physics) offered by the Physics Department, details of which may be obtained from the Course Coordinator, Dr. N.R. Heckenberg.]

This is a research project which will consume a large fraction of the available time for the full academic year. A short typed thesis must be submitted at the end of second semester and assessment will be on the basis of this thesis, a brief seminar on the thesis topic and an oral examination on the thesis material, as well as the judgment of the project supervisor. Projects are necessarily restricted to problems on which one or more staff members have the expertise and interest necessary to give detailed supervision and for which facilities are immediately available. In practice this means that the projects are closely tied to the on-going research in the department. A preliminary list of projects available in 2004 is appended. A more complete list may be circulated later. This is not necessarily an exclusive list; intending Physics IVH students may wish to suggest different projects or approach staff members not listed as project supervisors. Such suggestions can be accepted only when we are satisfied that they will lead to viable projects. The general research areas of the department are:

Condensed Matter Theory: Dr McKenzie, Dr. Cho, Dr. Lundin, Dr. Sun, Dr Goan.

Laser Physics: Dr Heckenberg, Professor Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Dr McIntyre, Dr Friese, Dr Fernee, Dr Cooper, Dr Nieminen, Dr Vale

Quantum Optics: Professor Drummond, Dr Ficek, Dr Kheruntsyan, Dr Reid, Dr Corney, Dr Davis, Dr Dalton.

Quantum Information theory: Professor Milburn, Dr Ralph, Dr Gilchrist, Dr Nielsen, Dr Sun

Once a project has been assigned the student is expected to consult widely and regularly with his/her supervisor so that satisfactory progress occurs. Early in the project students should develop a plan, in consultation with their supervisor, for the progression of work that might need to be carried out by the Mechanical and Electronic workshops. These sections work to schedules and are not always able to accommodate last minute rushes. Supervisors also expect a draft copy of a report/thesis well before the final submission date in order to advise students of potential problems.

The projects are open-ended and students will be judged more on what they can make out of a project than on whether specific goals are met.

Some time before project reports are due for submission, each student is required to present a seminar to staff and students on the topic of their research project. The format of the talk will be 20 minutes for presentation, followed by 5 minutes for audience questions. A similar talk will be presented at the end of first semester. Supervision Policy for the IVH Programme (pdf)

Project reports (3 copies) must be submitted by a deadline to be announced, normally the end of the S2 lecture period, and oral examinations will be held during the normal examination period. Students must be available during the whole of this period for their oral. In scientific report writing verbosity is a vice that will be penalised. The ideal report length is less than 50 typed pages, although appendices with large diagrams, computer programs, detailed derivations etc. may be added to the number. The department does not pay the cost of typing, but for reports of normal length the production of multiple copies may be done, without charge, on the departmental photocopier.

The fourth year lecture courses offered (each nominally of 32 lecture hours (2U) on selected topics, with various third level pre-requisites) are listed below.

LIST B subjects are compulsory for all honours students and are both presented in semester 1. They assume the corresponding third level subjects as prerequisites.

LIST C (choose 4 units to make up 16 total) These courses are all 2U and are presented in Semester 2

CODE	COURSE	LECTURER
PHYS6030	Laser Physics & Atom-Light Interaction	Heckenberg, Rubinsztein-Dunlop, White
PHYS4070	Advanced Computational Physics	Drummond, Davis, Drinkwater
PHYS4090	Quantum Optics & Stochastic Processes	Ficek, Wiseman, Ralph
MATH4105	General Relativity	Drinkwater,Zang

Detailed Profiles of the courses will be available on the departmental web site.

There are weekly research colloquia in the department and all IVH students are expected to attend these. Also, your project supervisor may require you to attend weekly research group meetings.

The first semester lecture timetable is prepared shortly before the beginning of semester, and can take into account various constraints such as the need to leave certain days clear for students who have projects involving work at field sites.

Each component of the program will be awarded a grade 1-7 in the usual way. The project mark and grade is determined by the supervisor (50%), an ‘expert’ examiner (25%) and another staff member who is not familiar with the area (25%).

The honours program does not follow the semester time-table, although the lecture component of the course is given only during the normal semester lecture times. Students are provided with keys to the department's main entrance and to their research rooms and are expected to work as and when necessary to complete their projects. The official start to the program is on Monday 23 February 2004 at 9 a.m. in the Conference Room, 2.32D of the Physics Annexe, and it is important that all candidates attend. Decisions about choice of projects should be complete by the end of that week and a start made on project work as soon as possible. There is no objection to an earlier start. During the first week all students will be required to attend workshop and laboratory safety training. MSc and PGDip students are also required to attend the workshop familiarisation subjects. Please advise the Coordinator of any difficulties.

A session will be arranged to assist all new Physics IVH and PGDipSc students to become familiar with the computing facilities available in the department and library facilities available. The dates and details will be conveyed to you later.

A Workplace Safety Course will be conducted at the Gateway Community TAFE College, Kingsford Smith Drive, probably on 25^th and 26^th February. All students must attend this course.

As honours or PGDipSc students you will have access to certain privileges and facilities that are not extended to undergraduates and will have much closer and more personal contact with staff, as for other graduate students.

Keys to the department will be issued to you on payment of a $20 deposit to the University cashier on the ground floor of the J D Story building. Also, be sure to complete an after hours authority form, available from the Secretary’s Office. Always lock any laboratory or office as you leave it unless there is someone else still there; doors to the Physics Annexe must be locked after 5 pm Monday to Friday, and all weekend.

All Physics IVH students will be provided with desks in one of the rooms in the Department. This provides somewhere to work and a base to leave your things etc. These are intended as quiet rooms and in particular should not be used for food. (Use the Tea Room in the Parnell Building to consume food and drinks). Make sure that doors and windows are shut at night.

An effective way of meeting and talking with staff and other students is to join the Physics students' club, "PAIN", which holds regular activities including the "Error Bar" beer and pizza sessions on Friday evenings.

If it is necessary to make photocopies of papers or articles in connection with your project work or formal course work this may be done on one of the machines in the enquiry office Room 1.15, (at departmental expense). When you first appear there, please introduce yourselves to the secretaries responsible for that office. If you need to make official phone calls (in connection with your work) this may be done from a designated phone in that office. If you need to give a phone number to receive messages, ask callers to try 3365-1134 (outside IVH rooms) first, then 3365-3424. One of the secretaries will take a message for you. You may have mail addressed to you at the department. This will be placed in one of the mail boxes in the enquiry office, along with any messages phoned in or from staff who need to get messages to you. It is a good idea to check the mail boxes regularly. You will also be able to send and receive email from your departmental computer account and should check regularly for messages from the head of department and IVH coordinator.

comply with Safety Standards. Consult the Electronic Workshop for assistance with high voltage circuits. Take appropriate precautions with other equipment (eg gas cylinders, hot or very cold items, chemical containers). Report any mishaps immediately.

The department is never clear until shortly before the first semester how much tutoring will be available for graduate students in each semester, but there is usually some. If you wish to be considered for appointment to casual tutoring to first year classes please advise this in a memo to the Head of Department.

Many of the departments' non-academic staff will be important to your work. Some of those you will meet very early in your course are:

If you wish to make a general enquiry about the Physics IVH and MSc subjects without visiting the department, phone the Departmental Secretary on 3365 3405, who should be able to advise on the availability or otherwise of the P/Grad Honours Program Co-ordinator, Dr N R Heckenberg. If he is not available, please leave a message with a phone number, so that we can call back. Enquiries about particular projects should be addressed to the project supervisors.

Other things being equal, responsibility for Physics IVH projects will normally be spread evenly between academic staff members who have proposed project titles. As soon as you have found a supervisor who has (in writing) agreed for you to undertake a particular project, you should advise me accordingly so that, if appropriate, I can confirm this arrangement as soon as possible. It is especially important to keep me informed, if negotiation takes place by correspondence due to a late formal start. To keep track of options you will be required to fill out a Physics Honours IVH Course Selection form and lodge it with the Co-ordinator.

As past students will undoubtedly confirm to you the fourth year Physics honours program makes a year of very hard work, but it can be very satisfying as you become more deeply involved with the research frontiers of Physics. It is important to recognise it as a year of collaboration in achievement and not a year of competition; collaboration with your fellow students for mutual help as well as with staff. It should be emphasised that you are not competing with other students for a particular class of honours. The classes are determined by our judgment of absolute standards and not by fixing the fractions of students awarded each class. (As evidence of this we can point to a most exceptional year where every Physics IVH student was awarded first class honours). Discussion between students of the work in hand is important and if in the process you help your fellow students you are almost certainly helping and definitely not hindering yourself. All of us here in the Physics Department hope that these words encourage you to spend a successful and satisfying year with us.

Dr N R Heckenberg
P/Grad Honours Program Coordinator
Telephone: 3365 3369
Room: 2.15 Physics Annexe
email: heckenberg@physics.uq.edu.au