This page summarizes all courses I have instructed at UC San Diego, primarily in the Physics department.
A list of all courses offered by the UC San Diego Physics Department can be found here.
Courses for 2023-2024:
Physics 5, Stars and Black Holes. This course is a broad, general education course focused on understanding the life and evolution of stars. Topics include observing the night sky, the Sun, the formation of stars, stellar evolution and stellar types, the death of stars, and stellar remnants, including black holes. This is offered in Fall 2023.
Past Courses:
Physics 1A, Mechanics. This course is an introductory course on mechanics designed specifically for majors in the biological sciences. Topics include vectors, one and two dimensional motion, rotational motion, forces, energy, and momentum.
Physics 9, The Solar System. This course is designed for non-majors (though majors are definitely welcome!), and introduces the basic properties of the objects in the Solar System. Topics include the Sun, terrestrial and giant planets, satellites, asteroids, comets, dwarf planets and the Kuiper Belt, exoplanets, and the formation of planetary systems.
Physics 13, Life in the Universe. This course is an interdisciplinary course on astrobiology for non-majors. We cover topics related to the formation and evolution of life on Earth, and how that relates to the possibility of life elsewhere in the galaxy.
Physics 160, Stellar Astrophysics. This is an upper division course designed for physics and engineering majors. Topics include observational properties of stars, solar physics, radiation and energy transport in stars, stellar spectroscopy, nuclear processes in stars, stellar structure and evolution, degenerate matter and compact stellar objects, supernovae and nucleosynthesis.
Physics 164, Observational Astrophysics Lab. This is an upper division laboratory course for physics majors, but is frequently taken by students in other departments, such as engineering or math. This course covers observational techniques for astronomy, with a focus on optical wavelengths of light. Topics covered include photon statistics, spectroscopy, and astrometry. We use the Nickel Telescope at Lick Observatory in remote observing mode to gather data for the lab projects.
Physics 223, Stellar Structure and Evolution. This is a graduate-level course on the physics of stars, including both their interiors and atmospheres. The class focuses on our theoretical understanding of stellar properties, with an eye toward practical application including basic stellar modeling. Reviews of current literature on stellar physics is a significant part of the class.
Physics/Astronomy 222, Planets and Exoplanets. This is a graduate level course on the properties of planets, with a focus on exoplanetary systems. Topics include the detection methods for exoplanets, planet formation, planetary interiors, atmospheres, dynamics, and biosignatures. A significant fraction of the course involves reviewing of relevant literature and utilizing current code packages related to exoplanet research.