Physics Departmental Colloquium: 2:00 p.m., Friday, October 4 (refreshments served at 1:45 p.m.)
Place: P-148 (refreshments across from SPS)
Title: Creating Rewarding Careers in Industrial Physics and Physics Education
Speaker: Lawrence Woolf
Technical Fellow and Manager of Materials Science, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. President and Chairman of the Board, General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation
Time: 2:00 p.m., Friday, October 4 (refreshments served at 1:45 p.m.)
Place: P-148 (refreshments across from SPS)
Abstract:
What does an industrial physicist do? Can you get involved in physics education in industry? What is the best way to prepare undergraduate physics students for careers? How are these questions related?
My career – 37 years at General Atomics after a PhD in low temperature physics from UCSD – will be used to answer these questions. The skills and knowledge needed to succeed in industrial careers as well as advantages, disadvantages, and the breadth that such careers can offer will be explored. I’ll also discuss my trajectory into physics education that started small but blossomed into participation in many national NSF and APS efforts, including the APS/AAPT Joint Task Force on Undergraduate Physics Programs that issued the Phys21 report. Key findings from Phys21 will be presented on how to improve the preparation of physics graduates for the varied careers that await them.