Applied & Engineering Physics

Ph.D. Handbook 2012-2013

Table of Contents

Page

Introduction

Temporary Committee

Registration & Enrollment

Ph.D. Requirements & Policies

Special Committee
Core Curriculum
Admission to Candidacy Exam
Final Exam
Minor & Lab Requirements
Language & Teaching Requirements
Reduced Tuition

Appendix I, Core Curriculum

Graduate Field Faculty

5-9
5
5&9
6
7
7
7
8
9
10

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to graduate study in Applied Physics at Cornell

University. By now, you will have received information from
sources all over the university. In order to make certain that
you are not completely overwhelmed, we have compiled this
booklet of information, specifically about our field and department.
Information included in this book will help to answer some of
the most commonly asked questions including; the Applied
Physics Field Faculty, specific Field requirements, exam
procedures, and policies.
Best wishes for a challenging and rewarding educational
experience.

School of Applied and

Engineering Physics
Cornell University
271 Clark Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-2501
Phone: 607 255-5198
Fax: 607 255-7658
Email: AEP_info@cornell.edu

Temporary Committee Chairman

When you arrive, the Director of Graduate Studies, will assign a temporary chairman to
handle your initial advisement. During your first academic year, you should investigate
the research opportunities available and decide which research group(s) you would like to
work with to proceed with your thesis research. In general, you must join a
research group by the end of your second semester.
You must discuss the possibility of joining a research group with the groups faculty
leader and obtain a commitment from that person to provide you with your research
support and become your permanent chairman (or become a member of your committee
if he/she is not a member of the Applied Physics field). You should also form the
remainder of your committee according to the guidelines (in the Special Committee
description within the Field requirements section on page 5).
You will need to complete a Special Committee Selection and Change form (A1), which
can
be
downloaded
from
the
Graduate
School
web
site
<www.gradschool.cornell.edu/forms>. You must fill out the top portion of the form and
then obtain the signatures of your Advisor. The signature of the AEP Director of Graduate
Studies is also required in order for the form to be complete. You should submit the
completed from as soon as possible to the Student Services Office in the Graduate
School located in 143 Caldwell Hall to Barb Edinger, who is the Graduate Student Service
Representative for the Field of Applied Physics. She can be contacted at
bae2@conrell.edu or 255-5817.
Registration & Enrollment
You must register every semester (including the summer, if you will be on campus).
Late registration will cause a substantial fee to be added to your bill. You must enroll
before the end of the third week of classes or there will be additional late fees. Even if
you not enrolling in courses you must register and enroll for research credit; see course
roster for appropriate registration codes. Failure to register revokes your privileges to
use University facilities including research labs and libraries and makes you ineligible
to receive stipend payments.
(see page 8 regarding In Absentia and Leave of
Absence registration)

Ph.D. REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES

IN THE FIELD OF APPLIED PHYSICS

The requirements and policies for the granting of a Ph.D. in the Field of Applied Physics have
been established by two documents: The Code of Legislation of the Graduate Faculty
and The Agreements of the Faculty of the Graduate Field of Applied Physics. The
requirements as they currently stand are summarized below.

Special Committee

Each Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate Field of Applied Physics shall form a Special
Committee consisting of at least three professors. Two options are open to the student.
He may choose two minor subjects, in which case one professor, the Chairman, shall
represent his major in Applied Physics, and the remaining two shall represent one each of his
minor subjects. At least one of the minor subjects shall not be Applied Physics or Physics.
Alternatively, he may select only one minor in which case two professors shall represent
his major subject and one his minor subject. The minor subject shall not be Applied
Physics or Physics. One major professor shall be Chairman of the Special Committee. The
role of the second major professor is to give balance to the scientific interests of the
committee and to guard against the danger of over specialization in the student's program.
The student should make certain that his committee members are not all identified with only
one area of scholarship in Applied Physics (e.g., biophysics, quantum physics, plasma
physics, geophysics, etc.).
The Director of Graduate Studies will choose one or two additional members to sit with the
Special Committee during the oral examination as a representative(s) of the Field. This
choice will be made to ensure a proper breadth of the scope of the oral examination.
During the course of the Ph.D. program a candidate may wish to change the members of
his committee. The members of the committee are registered with the Graduate School.
Prior to completion of four residence units, the committee may be changed by an application
to the Graduate School. After four units of residence a petition to the General Committee is
required.
Core Curriculum
All graduate students in the Field of Applied Physics shall be expected to achieve
competence in the subject matter represented by the following existing courses at Cornell.
One purpose of the A Exam is to test this competence and to point out areas of weakness.
Please see Appendix I.

Admission to Candidacy or A Exam

The format of the A Exam consists of written and oral parts. You are eligible to take
your A Exam after you have earned a total of two Registration Units in your graduate
program and required to be completed prior to the beginning of your seventh semester.
A written Ph.D. Qualifying Examination (Q-Exam) will be given to help evaluate the
performance of the students in the core curriculum subject. The examination has six
sections: Physical Concepts, Classical Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Quantum
Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, and Mathematical Physics. It will be given in May each
year, at the end of the students second graduate term. The Q-Exam Committee, consists
of the DGS and the faculty member that administer the sections. The Q-Exam Committee
will transmit its evaluation of the students performance on the exam to the student and the
students Special Committee in writing. A coy of this notification will be kept as a permanent
part of the students record.
The Q-Exam Committee will determine if each student has attained a level of minimum
competency in the core curriculum subjects. Each student must attain this minimum
competency, which is defined as passing four or more sections of the Q-Exam. Students
who failed the Q-Exam in the first attempt must retake the entire exam in the following year.
Student must pass the Q-Exam in the second attempt in order to remain in good academic
standing.
The oral examination will be given by the Special Committee plus up to two additional
members of the Field of Applied Physics to be appointed by the Director of Graduate
Studies. The additional members may ask questions if it appears appropriate to them,
and do vote on the students performance. The student should contact the Director of
Graduate Studies and inform him of intent to take the exam and the area of specialization
so that appropriate additional members can be assigned. The student then arranges a
schedule with the Special Committee and appointed Field Member(s). You will need to
obtain a Schedule of Examination form (A3), which can be downloaded, from the Graduate
Schools web site. You will need to fill out the top portion of the form and obtain the
signatures of your Chairman, Special Committee Members and your Field Appointed
Member and also the Director of Graduate Studies. The Graduate School must be given
notice of your exam at least seven (7) days prior to the date of the scheduled date of your
exam without exception. You will need to submit your completed Schedule of Exam form
to the Student Services Office to Barb Edinger in the Graduate School, located in 143
Caldwell Hall.
Entering the examination, you will need to bring a Results of Examination form (A4), which
can be downloaded, from the Graduate School web site. After the examination, you will
need to submit that form to the Student Services Office to Barb Edinger in the Graduate
School, located in 143 Caldwell Hall.

Final Exam or B Exam

You will prepare to take your B Exam (or Thesis Defense) once you have completed all of
the necessary requirements in order to complete your graduate program. Your Advisor and
Special Committee will have the final determination of when you have successfully reached
this point.
The Final Examination is oral and covers the general subject of the thesis. It must be
passed within seven (7) years from the first date of registration. It is given by the Special
Committee.
An outline and draft of the thesis must be given to each member of the Special Committee
at least six (6) weeks before the Final Examination. At least seven (7) days before the
examination each member, including those appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies,
must receive a final copy to be retained until the examination.

Minor Area of Study

The candidate must satisfy requirements in at least one minor area of study outside Applied
Physics and Physics. This area of study should be supervised by a qualified member of the
committee.
Since Applied Physics represents an extremely broad field, many times it is not sufficient
that the minor simply be outside the Applied Physics field. It should be in an area distinctly
different from the thesis work. The minor should be satisfied or clearly established at the
end of the oral part of the A Exam.
Phys 6510 Laboratory Requirement

The members of the Field have agreed that one term of Physics 6510 or equivalent
graduate laboratory experience be satisfied by all Ph.D. candidates. Candidates, who
have taken Physics 4410 or equivalent, have an experimental Ph.D. thesis, and substantial
laboratory experience on a subject different from the Ph.D. thesis may have the requirement
reduced.
Language Requirement

There are no foreign language requirements set form by the Field of Applied Physics.
Foreign students must satisfy the requirements for admission as far as the English
Language is concerned.

Teaching Requirement

There is no teaching requirement in the Field of Applied Physics.

Other Tuition Reductions

Graduate Students who are approved to register In Absentia

either to pursue their studies or to conduct research off campus
pay in absentia tuition, which is currently $200 per semester
(also called Active File Fee).
Students filing for a Leave of Absence will be charged a
prorated tuition fee according to the duration of the leave.
The University Bursar (203 Day Hall) can figure the exact
amount.

APPENDIX I
CORE CURRICULUM FOR GRADUATE
STUDENTS IN APPLIED PHYSICS

It is resolved that: All graduate students in the Field of Applied Physics shall be
expected to achieve competence in the subject matter represented by the following
existing courses at Cornell.
Applied Mathematics:

Through the level of AEP 4210-4220 is required, however,

the level of T&AM 6100-6110-6120-6130 is recommended.

Classical Mechanics:

Through the level of Goldstein's textbook.

Applied and
Engineering Physics 3330, Physics 3318 are close, but
somewhat below the level required.

Electrodynamics:

Through the level of A&EP 5570 or Physics 6561. Applied

and Engineering Physics 3550 and 3560 are close, but
somewhat below the level required.

Statistical Mechanics:

Through the level of Physics 6562 or Chemistry 7950.

Applied and Engineering Physics 4230 is close, but
somewhat below the level required.

Quantum Mechanics:

Through the level of Physics 6572 plus one course which

emphasizes the applications of quantum mechanics and
has quantum mechanics as a prerequisite. Some of the
courses presently offered at Cornell which meet this
requirement are: Physics 6574, 7635, and 7645; Chemistry
7940; Electrical Engineering 5310; Applied and Engineering
Physics 6090. Applied and Engineering Physics 3610 and
3620 are close, but somewhat below the level required.

Experimental Physics:

One term of Physics 6510 Advanced Laboratory or

equivalent graduate laboratory experience will be satisfied
by all Ph.D. candidates. The field has agreed that one
form of this equivalence is to have taken Physics 4410 or
equivalent, have an experimental Ph.D. thesis, and
laboratory research experience on a subject different from
the Ph.D. thesis.

GRADUATE FIELD OF APPLIED PHYSICS

Name

Dept.

Office

Phone#

BROCK, Joel D.
BUHRMAN, Robert A.
COHEN, Itai
CRAIGHEAD, Harold G.
DiSALVO, Francis J.
ERICKSON, David
FENNIE, Craig
FUCHS, Greg
GAETA, Alexander
GIANNELIS, Emmanuel
GRUNER, Sol
HAMMER, David A.
HINES, Melissa
HOUCK, James R.
KELLEY, Michael C.
KUSSE, Bruce R.
LAL, Amit
LINDAU, Manfred
LIPSON, Michal
LOVELACE, Richard
MC EUEN, Paul L.
MULLER, David
PARK, Jiwoong
POLLACK, Lois
POLLOCK, Clifford R.
RALPH, Dan
ROBINSON, Richard
SCHAFFER, Chris
SCHLOM, Darrell
SEYLER, Charles E.
SHALLOWAY, David
THOMPSON, Michael O.
TIWARI, Sandip
VAN DOVER, Robert
WANG, Jane
WISE, Frank W.
XU, Chris
ZIPFEL, Warren

AEP
AEP
Physics
AEP
CCB
MAE
AEP
AEP
AEP/DIR
MSE
Physics
ECE
CCB
Astronomy
ECE
AEP,DUS
ECE
AEP/MENG
ECE
AEP
Physics
AEP
CCB
AEP
ECE
Physics
MSE
BME
MSE
ECE
MBG
MSE
ECE
MSE
Physics
AEP
AEP/DGS
Biomed.

201 Clark
5-9006 , 5-0819
211 Clark
5-3732, 5-7500
508 Clark
5-0815, 5-8853
205 Clark
5-8707, 5-2329, 5-6286
102 Baker Lab
5-7238
240 Upson
5-4861
224 Clark
5-6498
217 Clark
5-5634
270B Clark
5-9983, 5-0657
326 Bard
5-9680
162 Clark
5-3441
327 Rhodes
5-3916, 5-4127
B-48 Baker Lab
5-3040
220 Space Sciences 5-4807
5151 Upson
5-7425
206 Clark
5-6252, 5-4889
118 Phillips
5-9374
272 Clark
5-5264
428 Phillips
5-7877
227 Clark
5-3968, 5-6915
510 Clark
5-5193
274 Clark
5-4065
297 Physical Sci
4-3339
254 Clark
5-8695
213 Phillips
5-5032, 5-0630
538 Clark
5-9644
214 Bard
5-7750
B57 Weill
5-8102, 342-7737
230 Bard
5-6504
322 Rhodes
5-4967
265 Biotech
4-4896
328 Bard
5-4714, 5-9155
401 Phillips
4-6254
327 Bard
5-3228
517 Clark
5-5354
252 Clark
5-9956, 5-1184
276 Clark
5-1460
B41 Weill
5-0663

10