The following options are available to satisfy the writing intensive curriculum (WIC).
- There is a formal class, PH 317 (details here)
- Or, students can write a senior thesis with one-on-one guidance from a research mentor. If working with a research mentor, you must enroll in PH 401 (research) and PH 403 (thesis) (details here).
The research mentors listed below are potentially available to supervise research, but this list should be treated as a general guide for exploring options rather than a guarantee of research project availability. The best way to find out whether a specific project or advisor is available is to reach out to them directly.
This list was updated in February 2025.
PH 317: Advanced Physics Lab
12 available projects
Project information
- The advanced physics lab gives students experience with designing and performing physics experiments and writing advanced lab reports. The next offering of PH317 is Winter term, 2025.
- This course can fulfill the writing intensive major requirement in place of doing research and writing a research thesis.
David Craig
0 available projects
Continuing students: Jake Bullard ('25), Emmitt Allen ('26)
Project information
- Quantum measurements
- Canonical structure of loop quantum cosmology/Hamiltonian cosmology
- Effective dynamics in loop quantum cosmology
- Other topics in quantum theory or gravitation
Sanjana Curtis
1 available project
Continuing students: new!
Project information
- Computational astrophysics -- core-collapse supernova simulations in spherical symmetry, modeling explosions of stars with a hydrodynamics code and determining explosion properties
Paul Emigh
1 available project
Continuing students: new!
Project information
Physics Education Research:
- Evaluating effectiveness and student attitudes toward online course materials
- Evaluating effectiveness and improving quality of pedagogical representations in introductory physics
Elizabeth Gire
0 available projects
Graduating students: Seghers ('23), Shapton ('25)
Continuing students:
Project information
- Students use of various sensemaking strategies in PH315 and PH335
- Development of course materials and assessments for Paradigms courses.
Matt Graham
1 available project
Current students: Logan Winder ('25), Patrick Moret ('25 or '26), Elijah Zacharia ('28), Henry Radda ('28)
If interested, please consider applying to URSA-ENGAGE advertisement, SURE or other scholarship programs through with lab (http://sites.science.oregonstate.edu/physics/energetics/). End of the Spring term is the best time to inquire unless applying for a scholarship program (then ask early, ask often).
Project information
- Optoelectronics: electronic confinement and current generation in emerging semiconductor materials
- Optical laser spectroscopy
Kathryn Hadley
0 available projects
Graduating students: Jones, C ('24), Jackson, D ('24)
Project information
- Computational astrophysics: modeling protostellar systems; Rossby wave instabilities, plasma shocks
Patti Hamerski
1 available project
Continuing Students: Mateo Hall ('25)
Project information
- Using qualitative education research methods to study transfer pathways and institutional change in our physics department
Jeff Hazboun
0 available projects
Graduating students: Peter Orndoff ('24), Maddie Thompson ('24)
Continuing students: Kyle Gourlie ('25), Trevor Le Rarick ('25)
Project information
- Gravitational wave astronomy with pulsar timing arrays
- Using signal analysis, Bayesian data analysis methods and astrostatistics to understand gravity
- Computational astrophysics focused on supermassive binary blackholes.
Davide Lazzati
1 available project
Graduating students: Ian Busby ('25)
Project information
- My research group carries out numerical simulation of astrophysical phenomena focusing on stellar explosions and the aggregation of solids in space.
- Available projects span from visualization of numerical results to post-processing of current results (i.e., reading a big file of data and compute some physically meaningful quantity out of it). I am happy to match the project to the student wishes and expectations, as long as it is something I have sufficient expertise to advise.
Yun-Shik Lee
1 available project
Graduating students: Johnson, N ('24)
Continuing students: Cody Worrell ('25), Keegan Bailey-Darland ('25)
Project information
- Quantum decoherence and coherent control of quantum states
- Reach out to Prof. Lee to learn more
Yangqiuting (Doris) Li
2 available projects
Continuing students: Diego Menendez ('25)
Project information
- Investigating how students make sense of quantum concepts, such as the relationships between the Sx, Sy, and Sz bases in quantum mechanics, and the relationship between quantum measurement and operators.
- Exploring how various classroom and instructional factors influence students' perceptions of inclusiveness in physics courses.
Ethan Minot
2 available projects
Graduating students: Bryce Wall ('24)
Continuing students: Ethan Hogan ('28), Miller Nelson ('25), Ryuu Joy ('25), Donovan Burke ('25), Oliver Tamburro ('27)
Project information
- Automation of a semiconductor probe station robotic stage to measure many novel transistors on a chip. Develop a data analysis program (in Python) to summarize results.
- Analysis of microscope images (utilizing machine learning) to automate the identification of two-dimensional semiconductors that are one- or few-atomic-layers in thickness.
Oksana Ostroverkhova
0 available projects
Graduating students: Jason Culley ('24), Claire Swartz ('24)
Continuing students: Madalyn Gragg ('25), James Nelson ('25), Aidan Bagshaw ('25), Nathan Duggan ('25), Josiah Chan ('25), Corey Cleveland ('26), Kieran King ('26), Aidan Harlow ('26)
Project information
- Organic pigments for photonic devices or properties of 2D magnets
Vanessa Polito
1 available project
Graduating students: Gessner, J. ('24)
Continuing students: Natalie Rodgers ('25)
Project information
- Solar physics research projects will involve analysis of data from NASA satellites to study solar flares or other energetic events on the Sun and/or comparison with computational models.
Weihong Qiu
2025-26 projects TBA
Graduating students: Owen Williamson (BB, '24)
Project information
- Computational biophysics: modeling the interaction between molecular motors with microtubules;
- Experimental biophysics: determine how molecular motors determine the directionality of movement
Heidi Schellman
0 available projects
Continuing students: Phoebe Andromeda ('25)
Project information
- Neutrino physics and large scale data analysis.
Xavier Siemens
2 available projects
Continuing students: Morgan Sylvia, Titus Black, Kien Peter, Natalie Rodgers ('25), Mateo Hall ('25), Samuel Dressel, Kyle Gourlie ('25), Charles Axford ('26), Ethan Shingleton
Project information
- Pulsar searching in radio telescope data
- Gravitational wave searches in pulsar timing data
Bo Sun
0 available projects
Graduating students: Hanna O'Meara ('24), Ty Zuber ('24), Hailey Richter ('24)
Continuing students: Nate Hastings ('25)
Project information
- Computer model of cell migration
Evan Thatcher
2 available projects
Graduating students: Miranda Seghers ('23)
Project information
Physics Education Research:
- Student math preparation and success in PH201
- Student use of sensemaking in PH201
Rebecka Tumblin
0 available projects
Graduating students: Vincent Vaughn-Uding ('25)
Continuing students: Sparrow Holtby
Project information
- Computational astrophysics
- Metallicity of stars and planets, data mining, cluster analysis
KC Walsh
0 available projects
Graduating students: Toll, M ('23)
Project information
- Ecampus comparative study of introductory physics using educational data mining and learning analytics.
- Predictive modeling student success using various artificial intelligence methods.
- Language processing student's reflective writing.
Research at OSU outside physics
Learning physics means building skills that are applicable in a wide variety of areas beyond the research we do in our physics department. Many physics majors have found success doing research with advisors from other academic disciplines. Here are several research advisors who have advised physics students recently.
Paul Ha-Yeon Cheong
- Department of Chemistry
- Computational chemistry
Chong Fang
- Department of Chemistry
- Femtosecond transient absorption (electronic) spectroscopy and stimulated Raman (vibrational) spectroscopy on functional molecular systems ranging from fluorescent protein biosensors, metal-organic frameworks, battery electrolytes, to optoelectronics
- Students: Sullivan Bailey-Darland ('23), Hope Smith ('26), Joshua Lee ('27)
- 2 available projects for 2025-26
- Contact Dr. Fang at [email protected] or visit the group website.
- Also see publications here: https://fanglab.oregonstate.edu/publication-list
Pavel Kornilovich
- Hewlett Packard
- Computational stable knots in nematic liquid crystals
Erin Pettit
- College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
- Glacier and ice sheet dynamics, ice/ocean interactions, ice rheology and deformation, ice-core climate history
Vince Remcho
- Department of Chemistry
- Students: Chirica ('23)
- No available projects for 2025-26
Nick Siler
- College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
- Mountain precipitation and hydrology, global hydrologic cycle, regional climate change and variability
- Students: Marty Weigel ('25)
- No available projects for 2025-26
Brian Woods
- College of Engineering
- Experimental and computational fluid dynamics, nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulics, and reactor safety
- Students: Holler ('23), Miles, H ('24)
