Small major, quantum leaps
Tiny physics department offers personal attention to ambitious students
Kaitlyn Buss
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: Features
"The most effective way to teach is one-on-one," Hayes said. "You can approach and interact and tolerate many questions."
The small number of students also makes lab time more productive and produces a close relationship between teacher and student in working on the senior thesis, Hayes said.
"At most, there's one student per semester that we work closely with [on a thesis]," he said. "It's that kind of individual attention that you can't always get at other universities."
Smith said he appreciates the small classes because there's no peer pressure. Students have the liberty to ask questions without feeling stupid in front of a large class.
Hayes, however, said he sees some disadvantage in the small class sizes.
"There's that positive feedback where students encourage each other," Hayes said. "It would be nice to have more of that."
The physics professors said they are recruiting more majors to their field but that aspiring physicists are rare.
"We've seen a lot that don't make it all the way through," Hayes said.
Hayes said the curriculum is easier than it was when he was in college, and the department struggles with the prospect of making it even easier to attract more students.
"It's hard to find a balance of what has been done for 100 years and what is needed to retain a fraction of the students," he said.
For Hillsdale's student population, Williams and Hayes said the physics department is of average size. And the opportunity to do hands-on work is behind almost every door.
A tour through the dusty and disorganized closets displays a diamond-cutting saw and a melt spinner, along with an atomic force microscope that Hayes described as "cute."
The department also owns an X-ray diffractometer and a quantum optics lab, which holds a table floating on air.
Detached from any vibrations in the building, the table does not feel the effects of air density, light or temperature fluctuations.
The small number of students also makes lab time more productive and produces a close relationship between teacher and student in working on the senior thesis, Hayes said.
"At most, there's one student per semester that we work closely with [on a thesis]," he said. "It's that kind of individual attention that you can't always get at other universities."
Smith said he appreciates the small classes because there's no peer pressure. Students have the liberty to ask questions without feeling stupid in front of a large class.
Hayes, however, said he sees some disadvantage in the small class sizes.
"There's that positive feedback where students encourage each other," Hayes said. "It would be nice to have more of that."
The physics professors said they are recruiting more majors to their field but that aspiring physicists are rare.
"We've seen a lot that don't make it all the way through," Hayes said.
Hayes said the curriculum is easier than it was when he was in college, and the department struggles with the prospect of making it even easier to attract more students.
"It's hard to find a balance of what has been done for 100 years and what is needed to retain a fraction of the students," he said.
For Hillsdale's student population, Williams and Hayes said the physics department is of average size. And the opportunity to do hands-on work is behind almost every door.
A tour through the dusty and disorganized closets displays a diamond-cutting saw and a melt spinner, along with an atomic force microscope that Hayes described as "cute."
The department also owns an X-ray diffractometer and a quantum optics lab, which holds a table floating on air.
Detached from any vibrations in the building, the table does not feel the effects of air density, light or temperature fluctuations.
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