Jonathan F. Reichert and Barbara Wolff-Reichert Award for Excellence in Advanced Laboratory Instruction Talk (2021): Starting From Scratch - Development of an upper level physics laboratory sequence

It can be a daunting task to create or overhaul a departmental physics laboratory curriculum. Often, one is confronted with inadequate or non-existent budgets, antiquated or non-existent equipment, inadequate or non-existent technical support, and other obstacles. However, physics remains a quantitative description of reality. Thus, we need to teach students how to measure physical phenomena, analyze and interpret results, and present those results. Students frequently have little experience tinkering and trying to develop measurements, or pushing data to extract every bit of information. While more subtle than specific technical competencies, the attitude and the “style” of an experimentalist also needs to be developed in our students. In this talk, I will review some of the tactics we’ve used to develop a robust upper level lab curriculum, and provide some suggestions of incremental steps for programs starting from an empty room with few resources.