Low-cost undergraduate physics research in a small liberal arts college.

Training with modern laboratory techniques and experience of developing independent research projects represent an indispensable part of undergraduate physics education. For many small schools with limited material resources these tasks are particularly challenging. We would like to share our experience of engaging undergraduate students in materials and nanotechnology research by using home-made equipment and inexpensive commercial software-defined electronic FPGA boards. Among the successful projects are resonant ultrasound spectroscopy, optical interferometry of nanoelectromechanical bridges, laser deflectometer for miniature tuning forks, pulse-echo probing of high-entropy alloys, microfluidic controller, and others. Depending on student’s interests, the experiments are supported by computational studies. Completion of such research projects not only gives students important skills, but also raises their interest in physics and inspires them to continue studies in PhD programs.

Partially supported by NSF CMMI 2337506