princeton physics thesis

Princeton Program in Plasma Physics

Graduate theses.

Recent theses since 2012 are made available electronically at DataSpace . Theses from 2011 and earlier are available at  ProQuest Library . 

• Princeton University Doctoral Dissertations, 2011-2024
• Electrical Engineering

Items in Dataspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Department of Physics

Undergraduate Research

The Princeton system of independent study lends itself very well to the Physics Department, where there are about as many  faculty as undergraduate students and where exciting opportunities are always available in world-renowned research groups . Princeton physics majors do research in their independent work and, if they want, over the summer.

Formal Research Requirements for the Physics Major

In each semester of the junior year, physics majors write a "junior paper" on a topic of current interest. These papers are often the first exposure to journal articles in physics and academic research. Each junior paper is prepared under the close supervision of a faculty member and provides an opportunity for stimulating discussions on the topic chosen by the student. For more details, see Junior Matters .

In the senior year, each physics major does a senior thesis: an original research project on a topic chosen by the student in consultation with a faculty adviser. Senior thesis projects span the range of activities in physics research from constructing experimental apparatus, to running an experiment, to analyzing data, to developing computer simulations, to theoretical analyses. Thesis topics on science teaching, history of science, and philosophy of science are also encouraged, as well as interdisciplinary projects with the other science departments. Projects are often done in the research areas of the Department - from particle physics to astrophysics. A student wishing to do an interdisciplinary thesis may need an adviser in another department to provide the expertise in the related field, as well as a physics department adviser to oversee the physics aspects of the thesis. Each thesis culminates with a written document (sometimes submitted for publication) and an oral examination covering the main points of the thesis. For more details, see Senior Matters.

Other Physics Department Research Opportunities

You may become involved with research as early as you want. The summer between the first and second years finds several students in Princeton working with research groups in the department. More students become involved in later summers, and some students continue during the academic year. Undergraduate researchers contribute in just about all the labs in the department. Students design optical pumping systems, analyze the data from high energy physics experiments conducted at CERN , SLAC , and Fermilab , explore the physical mechanisms of high temperature superconductivity, build probes of the cosmic microwave background, help design dark matter experiments, and conduct theoretical research.

Summer research positions are arranged informally, with students meeting with individual faculty members. If you are interested, don't hesitate to ask! Start with any faculty member to get leads. You should prepare a brief summary of your background to bring with you. It should contain information useful to a potential employer: how to reach you, relevant courses you have taken, and any skills or experience (programming, etc.) you may have. You are also required to fill out an online application and submit a copy of your CV. Consider also research opportunities elsewhere -- many national laboratories run summer internship programs. Check out their websites .

Houck Lab Quantum computing and condensed matter physics with microwave photons

Ph.D. theses from the Houck group

Circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) serves as a promising platform for scalable quantum computation, where precise microwave control of qubits lays the foundation for achieving high-fidelity quantum gates. Despite recent progress in developing various quantum gates, controlling artificial qubits remains a considerable challenge due to intricate Hamiltonian systems and the fragile nature of quantum states. Therefore, further research is needed to improve qubit gates and protect quantum states from qubit decoherence. This thesis presents two studies: 1) controlling cQED systems through black-box optimization to achieve state-of-the-art gate fidelity, 2) stabilizing an entangled two-qubit state indefinitely via engineering dissipation channels. The first study establishes the feasibility of direct black-box optimization as a method to discover novel qubit gates from simple initial conditions. We develop robust quantum optimization algorithms to efficiently learn novel qubit gates and evaluate these algorithms through simulations and experiments. Our findings show the potential to learn high-fidelity qubit gates without depending on the specifics of the system Hamiltonian. In the second study, our objective is to realize entanglement stabilization through quantum reservoir engineering. By coupling two qubits near resonance with a leaky resonator acting as a reservoir, we induce a strong correlated decay of the qubits. We experimentally demonstrate the subradiant effect of an entangled Bell state and, through simulation, reveal the robustness of this system in stabilizing a high-fidelity Bell state.

The potential for quantum computing to expand the number of solvable problems has driven researchers across academia and industry, in multiple disciplines, to develop a variety of different qubit platforms, algorithms, and scaling strategies. At its core, quantum computation relies on the robustness, or coherence, of its building blocks (qubits"). In current small-scale superconducting qubit processors, the fidelity of operations is often limited by qubit coherence. The coherence time of a single qubit depends on its lifetime $T_1$ and pure dephasing time $T_{\phi}$. In this thesis, we focus on the problem of improving $T_1$. Strategies for improving lifetimes are informed by models for relaxation - specifically Fermi's Golden Rule. Relaxation rates depend on noise properties of the environment and on properties of the qubit states. This dependence suggests two strategies for engineering longer lifetimes: environment engineering involves mitigating or filtering the noise that the qubit sees, and Hamiltonian engineering refers to optimizing the qubit circuit and its resulting eigenstates to optimize $T_1$. Significant enhancements of qubit lifetimes will require paradigm shifts in our approaches to both environment and Hamiltonian engineering. First, I present a side-by-side study of transmon coherence and materials measurements of the constituent Nb films, including synchrotron x-ray spectroscopy and electron microscopy. We found correlations between qubit lifetimes and materials properties such as grain size, grain boundary quality, and surface suboxides. This study expands the scope of superconducting qubit research by presenting a broad set of materials analyses alongside device measurements. Second, I will give an overview of Hamiltonian engineering, including the concepts behind intrinsic protection against relaxation and dephasing processes. I'll describe the soft $\mathrm{0-\pi}$ qubit, which is the first experimentally realized superconducting qubit to show signatures of simultaneous $T_1$ and $T_2$ protection. We improved coherence in the soft $\mathrm{0-\pi}$ through optimized fabrication processes. We have also characterized the effects of non-computational levels on gate fidelity, specifically AC Stark shifts and leakage. From the results in this thesis, we have gained a deeper understanding of what limits qubit coherence, informing future directions on both the materials and Hamiltonian engineering fronts.

A useful quantum computer requires a full stack of components, where each layer in the stack can actually scale. In this thesis we go through each layer of the quantum computing stack, from the bottom to the top. First, we discuss planar tantalum transmon qubit fabrication. We iterate on the design and fabrication of an entangling gate module with two fixed-frequency transmon qubits and a tunable coupler. We share our perspective on making a robust parametric entangling gate architecture for planar superconducting qubits. Next, we introduce the QICK (Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit), which is a standalone open source controller for both superconducting and atomic qubits as well as various detectors. Highly integrated open source firmware and software has been designed to allow the QICK to scale to hundreds of qubits. We develop the QICK for the superconducting qubit platform and use it to conduct the first single and multi-qubit experiments. Finally, we develop two modular simulation frameworks---one for a multinode quantum computer, and one for heterogeneous qubit architectures.

Superconducting quantum circuits are a promising platform for quantum computation. The building block for most quantum processors is a qubit (quantum bit) which can store information in a superposition of two states. Superconducting qubits are lithographically defined from metals, often niobium or aluminum. However, these devices have limited use because the information they store decays before most useful computations can take place. In this thesis we explore the cause of these losses. Specifically, we employ tantalum as the capacitor pad of a two-dimensional transmon qubit and find lifetimes and coherence times with dynamical decoupling over 300 us. We then switch to a resonator geometry to probe tantalum materials properties. We develop a power and temperature dependent measurement to quantify sources of decay. We find our resonators are primarily limited by two-level system loss at materials interfaces. Finally we employ this resonator characterization method to determine the effects of processing treatments and new packages onresonator decay, showing a buffered-oxide etch before measurement reduces two-level system loss.

Over the past decade, quantum circuits have been transitioning from being useful solely in fundamental physics research to having applications in a wide variety of fields. This has been made possible by the advancements in the coherence, coupling and optimal control of various elements of these quantum circuits. The experiments presented in this thesis solve critical challenges for the above mentioned areas. We provide the first experimental realization of a protected qubit having simultaneous robustness to relaxation and dephasing processes. We show a 40-fold improvement in the coherence time in fluxonium qubit by harnessing insights from Floquet engineering. Furthermore, we also demonstrate a coupling architecture for suppressing qubit-qubit crosstalk. The above works unlock new directions for improving the state of quantum systems

In recent years, superconducting circuits have become a promising architecture for quantum computing and quantum simulation. This advancing technology offers excellent scalability, long coherence times, and large photon nonlinearities, making it a versatile platform for studying non-equilibrium condensed matter physics with light. This thesis covers a series of experiments and theoretical developments aimed at probing strongly correlated states of interacting photons. Building upon previous efforts on nonlinear superconducting lattices, this work focuses on establishing new platforms for generating interactions between microwave photons in multi-mode circuits. The first experiment presents a new paradigm in exploiting the nonlinearity of a Josephson junction to tailor the Hilbert space of harmonic oscillators using a dynamical three-wave mixing process. This allows a single microwave resonator to be addressed as a two-level system, offering a promising pathway to long-lived qubits. A theoretical proposal is outlined for building a field-programmable quantum simulator, harnessing this dynamical nonlinearity for stimulating strong photon-photon interactions. The system consists of a lattice of harmonic modes in synthetic dimensions, where particle hopping and on-site interactions can be independently controlled via frequency-selective flux modulation. Numerical studies show that for strong interactions the driven-dissipative steady-state develops a crystalline phase for photons. The second experiment explores the physics of quantum impurities, where a single well-controlled qubit is coupled to the many modes of a photonic crystal waveguide. The light-matter coupling strength is pushed into the ultrastrong coupling regime, where the qubit is simultaneously hybridized with many modes and the total number of excitations is not conserved. Probing transport through the waveguide reveals that the propagation of a single photon becomes a many-body problem as multi-photon bound states participate in the scattering dynamics. Furthermore, the effective photon interactions induced by just this single impurity leads to interesting inelastic emission of photons. Probing correlations in the field emission reveals signatures of multi-mode entanglement. This work presents opportunities for exploring large-scale lattices with strongly interacting photons. These platforms are compatible with well-established techniques for generating artificial magnetic fields and stabilizing many-body states through reservoir engineering, complementing growing efforts in the quest for building synthetic quantum materials with light.

Over the past 10 years, improvements to the fundamental components in supercon- ducting qubits and the realization of novel circuit topologies have increased the life- times of qubits and catapulted this architecture to become one of the leading hardware platforms for universal quantum computation. Despite the progress that has been made in increasing the lifetime of the charge qubit by almost six orders of magnitude, further improvements must be made to climb over the threshold for fault tolerant quantum computation. Two complimentary approaches towards achieving this goal are investigating and improving upon existing qubit designs, and looking for new types of superconducting qubits which would offer some intrinsic improvements over existing designs. This thesis will explore both of these directions through a detailed study of new materials, circuit designs, and coupling schemes for superconducting qubits. In the first experiment, we explore the use of disordered superconducting films, specifically Niobium Titanium Nitride, as the inductive element in a fluxonium qubit and measure the loss mechanisms limiting the qubit lifetime. In the second experiment, we work towards the experimental realization of the 0 − π qubit archi- tecture, which offers the promise of intrinsic protection in lifetime and decoherence compared to existing superconducting qubits. In the final experiment, we design and measure a two qubit device where the static σz ⊗ σz crosstalk between the two qubits is eliminated via destructive interference. The use of multiple coupling elements re- moves the σz ⊗ σz crosstalk while maintaining the large σz ⊗ σx interaction needed to perform two qubit gates.

University Archives

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How to Search for, Find, and View Princeton University Senior Theses

Update 2.12.16 : For current information on how to search for senior theses, please see the  Libguide: How to Search, Request to View, and Order Princeton University Senior Theses

The University Archives has launched an online archive of senior theses , and now there are new ways to search for, find, and view Princeton University senior theses.

Senior theses created between 1924 and 2012:

Theses created between 1924 and 2012 are in paper format or on microfiche, and can only be viewed in the Mudd Manuscript Library Reading Room.

To find and request a thesis from 1924 to 2012:

• Go to Books+ and enter the author’s name, title (or portion of the title)
• When search results appear, choose “Senior Thesis” under resource type (on the left side of the screen), which will limit your results only to senior theses

• Choose the thesis record by clicking on the title
• Go to the “Locations and Availability” tab, then click the blue button that says “Reading Room Request”
• You will be prompted to log in with your netid (PU students, faculty and staff) or to create an account as a non-Princeton University Patron
• Come to the Mudd Library to view the thesis during our hours of operation and let us know that you have a request in the system

Senior theses created in 2013:

All senior theses created in 2013 are in PDF format, but they are only viewable in full text at the computers in the reference room of the Mudd Library (i.e. “Walk-in Access”). You do not need to request 2013 theses prior to visiting the library. To see the listing for 2013 theses, visit the Senior Thesis Community page . Further DataSpace search tips follow.

Senior theses created in 2014 and in the future:

All 2014 and later senior theses are in PDF format, and most are accessible on any computer connected to the Princeton University network. A small number of theses are subject to temporary restrictions (embargo) or are restricted to computers in the reference room of the Mudd Library (i.e. “Walk-in Access”).

To search for 2013, 2014 (and future) theses, visit the Senior Thesis Community page in DataSpace.

Use the search box to enter the author’s name, the title, or keywords.

You can limit the search to a specific department by using the dropdown box labeled “In”.

To find a thesis written by a specific author:

Use the Browse button “Author” to see an alphabetical list of authors in the system.

Then click on a name to see an author’s thesis.

To find theses advised by a specific advisor:

The Browse button “Author” lists thesis authors as well as advisors in a combined listing. To find the name of an advisor, click on the Author button and scroll to the advisor’s name in the alphabetical listing, then click on the name to see the theses advised by this person. Please note, there may be multiple forms of name for each advisor, so check under each of the name entries for that individual (e.g. “Anthony Grafton,” “Anthony T. Grafton,” “Anthony Thomas Grafton”) to find all of the theses that this person advised.

If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Lynn Durgin

2 responses to “How to Search for, Find, and View Princeton University Senior Theses”

[…] The Mudd Library houses both senior theses and Ph.D. dissertations written by Princeton University students. Both can be searched by using the Princeton University Library’s search service, Books+. To learn how to view or order a copy of a senior thesis, view our photoduplication process. For more on “How to Search for, Find, and View Princeton University Senior Theses,” see our previous… […]

To learn more about undergraduate research done around campus, from the senior thesis and beyond, see: https://pcur.princeton.edu/

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Undergraduate Announcement 2024 - 2025

General information, program offerings:, program offerings.

The physics department offers a comprehensive program with the flexibility to accommodate students with a range of interests. Those students wishing to maximize their preparation for graduate school can choose from a variety of advanced-level courses. The requirements of the core curriculum, however, are such that students with diverse interests can take a considerable course load outside the department. Thus, in addition to those students planning to enter graduate school in physics, the department encourages majors with career goals in such areas as engineering physics, law, medicine, materials science and teaching.

Goals for Student Learning

As a discipline, physics addresses the material Universe at its most fundamental level. A surprisingly small number of physical laws are sufficient to describe natural phenomena from subatomic to cosmological scales. The goals of physics are to push to ever deeper levels of understanding of the physical world, and to push upward, extending our understanding to more complicated systems, including molecules, fluids, solids, galaxies and living things.

Majoring in physics will not only teach you about the structure of physical law; it will allow you to take part in its discovery. In the process you will acquire universally valuable skills, including analytic problem-solving, methods of estimation and approximation, and reasoning both inductively and from first principles. Furthermore, you will build your intuition for how the physical world works, from electricity, the phases of matter, forms of energy, to the quantum realm.

Physics majors are prepared not only for a career in physics, but many other fields as well. Physics alumni may be found in academic and industrial physics research positions as well as consulting, medicine, law, teaching, biotechnology, university leadership and engineering.

A unique aspect of your experience at Princeton is the degree of involvement in contemporary physics through your own independent research. Each of two junior papers provides an opportunity to explore, in depth, an active area of current research.

The senior thesis is the capstone of the physics major and an opportunity for intellectual exploration broader than courses can afford. It is a year-long collaboration with a faculty member that is intended to actually contribute to current research in an area that is of greatest interest to you. Whether your thesis is on gravity and cosmology, condensed matter or string theory, it invariably represents your highest effort to come to grips with science as a living, breathing subject.

Advanced Placement

Students can take requirement fulfillment exams administered by the physics department to satisfy the basic physics requirements of the biological sciences (PHY 101-102) or SEAS (PHY 103-104). Passing the department-administered exams is the only way to receive advanced placement, although these will not satisfy the prerequisite requirements for any 200-level physics course. A separate exam is offered to place into PHY 207, which does serve to fulfill the departmental and course prerequisite requirements of the PHY 103/104 and PHY 105/106 course sequences.  

Prerequisites

Prerequisites for a major in physics are the following five courses: PHY 103-104, PHY 207, and MAT 203-204. These five courses should be completed by the end of sophomore year. PHY 103 may be replaced by PHY 105. PHY 104 may be replaced by PHY 106. The PHY 109/110 (spring/summer) sequence is fully equivalent to PHY 104. Students with a particular interest in formal mathematics may instead satisfy the MAT 203-204 prerequisite with either the MAT 215-217 or the MAT 216-218 sequence. Prerequisites for majoring in physics cannot be taken on a pass/D/fail basis.

It is possible to major in physics starting with 100-level physics courses in sophomore year. Interested students should meet with the director of undergraduate studies as early as possible.

Program of Study

Upon completion of the prerequisites described above, courses required for majoring in physics are as follows:

• One semester of quantum mechanics: PHY 208.
• One semester of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics: PHY 301.
• One semester of experimental physics: PHY 312.
• One additional course in physics (not including cross-lists) at the 300 level or above.
• One additional course in physics at the 300 level or above, including cross-lists.
• One additional course in either physics or math at the 300 level or above, including cross-lists.
• One elective course at the 300 level or higher, as detailed below.

All eight courses must be taken for a letter grade, not pass/D/fail. Note that this excludes any pass/D/fail–only courses from counting as one of the eight.

The elective course can be any physics department course (including cross-lists) at 300 level or above. 400-level physics courses are particularly recommended. Courses in astrophysics, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geophysical science, materials science, plasma physics and mathematics may also be appropriate, depending on the interests of the student. Courses from these departments may be approved on a case-by-case basis by the director of undergraduate studies. Graduate courses may also be taken with permission from both the instructor and the director of undergraduate studies.

Independent Work

Early major .

Students who complete the prerequisites for the major before the end of sophomore year may declare an early major in physics. They may be offered an opportunity to undertake independent work during the spring term by writing the first junior paper. Students interested in this option must do so with the advice and consent of the physics department and the residential college director of studies.

Junior Year

In addition to the coursework carried out during junior year, the student is required to complete two junior papers, each of which is on a research topic of current interest. The purpose of the papers is to give students exposure to how physics research is actually performed by immersing them in journal, as opposed to textbook, literature. Each paper is written in close consultation with a faculty adviser, who is typically performing research in the subject area of the paper. A junior paper may serve as a preliminary investigation of a senior thesis topic. Junior independent work may also be satisfied with a short experimental project.

Senior Year

In senior year, in addition to coursework, students write a senior thesis based on their own research. The topic might be chosen from one of the active experimental or theoretical research fields of the physics department, or might be suggested by a faculty member with some subsidiary interest. A student could also choose a topic relating to physics and another field, such as geophysics, the teaching of physics, history of science or engineering physics. Students whose main adviser is outside the physics department must also have a co-adviser who is a faculty member in the physics department.

Senior Departmental Examination

An oral examination conducted by a departmental committee at the end of senior year serves as the senior departmental examination.

Additional Information

Physics department facilities.

The research laboratories in Jadwin Hall (the main physics building) are open to undergraduates to conduct supervised research for their junior papers, senior theses and summer jobs. There is a "student shop" that offers a (noncredit) course in the use of machine tools. Students with an experimental bent are encouraged to take this course and are then able to participate actively in the construction of experimental apparatus. There are graduate courses in electronics (PHY 557 and PHY 558) open to undergraduates that prepare students to design and build the sophisticated electronics required in modern experiments.

Certificate Programs

For those students with an interest in such topics as solid-state devices, optics, fluid mechanics, engineering design, control theory, computer applications or other applied disciplines, the Program in Engineering Physics provides an opportunity for close contact with the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Specific requirements for the engineering physics certificate can be found in the section of this announcement on the Program in Engineering Physics.

The Program in Quantitative and Computational Biology is designed for students with a strong interest in multidisciplinary and systems-level approaches to understanding molecular, cellular and organismal behavior. The required courses provide a strong background in modern methodologies in data analysis, interpretation and modeling.

• James D. Olsen

Associate Chair

• Waseem S. Bakr
• Simone Giombi

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Director of graduate studies.

• Dmitry Abanin
• Michael Aizenman
• Robert H. Austin
• Bogdan A. Bernevig
• William Bialek
• Cristiano Galbiati
• Thomas Gregor
• Frederick D. Haldane
• M. Zahid Hasan
• David A. Huse
• William C. Jones
• Igor R. Klebanov
• Mariangela Lisanti
• Daniel R. Marlow
• Nai Phuan Ong
• Lyman A. Page
• Frans Pretorius
• Silviu S. Pufu
• Michael V. Romalis
• Shinsei Ryu
• Peter Schiffer
• Joshua W. Shaevitz
• Suzanne T. Staggs
• Paul J. Steinhardt
• Christopher G. Tully
• Herman L. Verlinde
• Ali Yazdani

Associate Professor

• Andrew M. Leifer

Assistant Professor

• Saptarshi Chaudhuri
• Lawrence W. Cheuk
• Isobel R. Ojalvo
• Gautam Reddy

Associated Faculty

• Ravindra N. Bhatt, Electrical & Comp Engineering
• Roberto Car, Chemistry
• Mihalis Dafermos, Mathematics
• Andrew A. Houck, Electrical & Comp Engineering
• Leslie M. Schoop, Chemistry
• Mansour Shayegan, Electrical & Comp Engineering
• David N. Spergel, Astrophysical Sciences
• David W. Tank, Princeton Neuroscience Inst
• Jeffrey D. Thompson, Electrical & Comp Engineering
• Salvatore Torquato, Chemistry
• Ned S. Wingreen, Molecular Biology
• Nathalie P. de Leon, Electrical & Comp Engineering

Senior Lecturer

• Grace Bosse
• Katerina Visnjic
• Katharine Moran

Visiting Lecturer with Rank of Professor

• Stephen L. Adler
• Nima Arkani-Hamed
• Juan M. Maldacena
• Nathan Seiberg

For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.

PHY 101 - Introductory Physics I Fall SEL

Phy 102 - introductory physics ii spring sel, phy 103 - general physics i fall sel, phy 104 - general physics ii spring sel, phy 105 - advanced physics (mechanics) fall sel, phy 106 - advanced physics (electromagnetism) spring sel, phy 108 - physics for the life sciences sel, phy 115a - physics for future leaders (also stc 115a) fall sen, phy 115b - physics for future leaders (also stc 115b) fall sel, phy 205 - classical mechanics not offered this year sen, phy 207 - from classical to quantum mechanics fall sen, phy 208 - principles of quantum mechanics spring sen, phy 209 - computational physics seminar fall sel, phy 210 - experimental physics seminar spring sel, phy 301 - thermal physics fall sen, phy 304 - advanced electromagnetism spring sen, phy 305 - introduction to the quantum theory fall sen, phy 312 - experimental physics fall/spring sel, phy 403 - mathematical methods of physics (also mat 493) not offered this year qcr, phy 405 - modern physics i: condensed-matter physics not offered this year sen, phy 406 - modern physics ii: nuclear and elementary particle physics not offered this year sen, phy 408 - modern classical dynamics fall sen, ast 301 - general relativity (also phy 321) not offered this year sen, ast 309 - the science of fission and fusion energy (also ene 309/mae 309/phy 309) spring sen, ast 401 - cosmology (also phy 401) not offered this year qrsn, ast 403 - stars and star formation (also phy 402) spring sen, egr 191 - an integrated introduction to engineering, mathematics, physics (also mat 191/phy 191) not offered this year sel, egr 192 - an integrated introduction to engineering, mathematics, physics (also apc 192/mat 192/phy 192) not offered this year qcr, geo 371 - global geophysics (also phy 371) fall sen, geo 419 - physics and chemistry of earth's interior (also phy 419) not offered this year, geo 442 - geodynamics (also phy 442) not offered this year, isc 231 - an integrated, quantitative introduction to life sciences i (also chm 231/mol 231/phy 231) fall qrsl, isc 232 - an integrated, quantitative introduction to life sciences i (also chm 232/mol 232/phy 232) fall qrsl.

Department of Astrophysical Sciences

Junior Papers, Senior Theses, Senior Thesis Defenses

Independent Work in Astrophysical Sciences Guide

• Independent Work in Astrophysical Sciences

The Astrophysics Independent Work includes two Junior Papers and one Senior Thesis carried out by each of our students under the supervision of an expert research adviser. All projects are original cutting-edge research in Astrophysics or related fields. The goal of our Independent Work is to teach our students the critical skills needed to carry out independent research in various fields of Astrophysics including, among others, the skills of quantitative reasoning, problem solving, scientific literature search, computational skills and algorithm development, data analysis, statistical analysis, observational methods, theoretical modeling, reaching justified scientific conclusions, and writing scientific papers.  This is of course in addition to learning the science of the topics they are exploring, which may range from planets and planet formation, to stars, galaxies, black-holes, dark-matter, and the evolution of the Universe as a whole.  With three independent research projects under the supervision of expert advisers, our students obtain more research experience than nearly any other Astrophysics department – a fact that greatly benefits our students in their future careers, whether in Astrophysics or other fields.

Junior Papers  (JP; Fall and Spring) and  Senior Theses  (ST) in Astrophysics represent original research done by the student in collaboration with a faculty adviser. The work ranges from observational astronomy and data analysis to theoretical and computational Astrophysics.  All topics in Astronomy and Astrophysics are covered in our department, from planets, stars, and the interstellar medium to galaxies, quasars, large-scale structure of the Universe, dark matter, dark energy, black holes, cosmology, the microwave background, and the early Universe. These topics can be researched both theoretically and observationally.  The Astro Majors have a choice on what topic they wish to work for each of their JPs and ST. Typically, each student will discuss possible choices with the Director of the Undergrad Program (Prof. Neta Bahcall) at the beginning of each term; Prof. Bahcall will advise the students of various possibilities and direct each student to discuss potential projects with a couple of faculty and researchers in the department. The student then selects the topic that most excites them. This is repeated for each of the JPs and for the Senior Thesis. The department allows students to carry out a JP or a Senior Thesis in another department if relevant and appropriate for the future directions and goals of the student.  Some of our students have carried out a JP or a ST in departments or topics such as Physics, MAE, Philosophy, Science Policy, Science Education, and more.  A student should discuss such possibilities with the Director of Undergraduate Studies.  The Junior Paper and Senior Thesis do not have specific format requirements other than being similar to scientific papers published in professional journals; i.e., they should contain a concise Abstract, a comprehensive Introduction that reviews the general topic (more extensive than a typical publication), followed by presentation of the work itself -- the data or theory used, the analysis methods, the results, and the main conclusions.  Figures, Plots, Tables are all expected in the paper. Many but not all of the Astro JPs and STs are eventually published as scientific papers in professional journals.

The department deadline for Fall JP is the University deadline (at the beginning of January).  The deadline for Senior Theses and Spring JPs  is typically the Friday before the university deadline (in early May) in order to reduce conflict with the special student celebrations that weekend.  For those students who need and request extra time, the deadline can be extended if needed up to the university deadline (which is on Mon-Tue immediately following that weekend).  Such requests should be made to the adviser (with a copy to Prof. Bahcall). No extension beyond this university deadline can be made without approval by the Dean (and none can be made for graduating Seniors). All students are requested to provide drafts of their JPs and STs to their advisers before the deadline, typically a couple weeks prior to the deadline, in order to receive comments and improve their papers. Students will upload a PDF of their thesis, both for departmental review and for archiving at Mudd Library, via the centralized Senior Thesis Submission Site by the deadlines listed above.

Senior Thesis Defense

Each Senior, together with their adviser, needs to select one additional reader for their thesis; the two faculty (adviser plus one reader) comprise the thesis committee.  If the student has co-advisers of the thesis, then up to 3 faculty will serve on the committee; while both co-advisers may participate, another independent faculty member needs to serve on the Thesis committee.  Each student should provide a copy of the thesis to each member of the committee, and arrange a thesis defense date with the committee.  The dates for the defense are usually within 1-2 weeks after the Thesis deadline. The student needs to reserve a room for that time with  Polly Strauss  (for about 1 hour), and email the room request to  [email protected] . 

The THESIS DEFENSE is composed of three parts:     A .  Thesis :   a 15 min presentation by the Senior of the thesis;     B .  Thesis Defense :  15-20 minutes questions by committee members on topics related to the thesis;     C .  General Astrophysics :  15-20 minutes of questions by committee members on general topics in astrophysics (mostly based on topics covered in your classes). I suggest the students review the basic AST204 material (e.g. F. Shu's "The Physical Universe", Ryden & Peterson's "Foundation of Astro Physics", or other similar material. The idea is for the students to know basic Astrophysics.

The department needs 1 bound copy of the final thesis which should be given to  Polly Strauss .

JP and ST Grading Guidelines in Astrophysics

A+    Exceptional. Significantly exceeds the highest expectations for undergraduate work. The work should reflect a high degree of originality, independence, and understanding by the student, and contain important scientific results. The content and the presentation of the JP/ST should be at the level of a refereed journal article, and it is expected that after additional work the JP/ST will be submitted for publication.

A      Outstanding. Meets the highest standards for the assignment. Work that goes beyond simply "doing a good job". Should reflect originality and independence, excellent understanding of the topic, and high-level of presentation. At this grade level, an ST should contain important scientific results. A JP should either contain important results or demonstrate exceptional development in mastering the tools of original research in astrophysics, as applied to an important problem. In either case, it is generally expected that the student will eventually appear as co-author on a likely refereed publication.

A-    Excellent. Meets very high standards for the assignment. Between A above and B+ below.

B+    Very good. Meets high standards for the assignment. Student did what is expected at a very good level. At this level, the JP or ST will exhibit problems in either science content, understanding, presentation, or independence, and will look like it could have been improved with more work. An ST should contain substantial contributions toward the solution of an important research problem, and a JP should either contain such contributions or demonstrate significant development in mastering the tools of original research in astrophysics.

B     Good. Meets most of the standards for the assignment. The content, presentation, understanding, or independence of the student could stand some significant improvement.

B-    More than Adequate. Shows some reasonable command of the material. The content, presentation, understanding, or independence of the student is more than adequate but less than good. The work may contain some conceptual or other errors, and the work may reflect adequate but not good understanding, originality or independence.

C+   Acceptable; meets basic standards for the assignment.

C   Acceptable; meets some of the basic standards for the assignment.

C-  Acceptable; but falling short of meeting basic standards in several ways

D    Minimally acceptable; lowest passing grade

F     Fail. Very poor performance.

For students completing JP/ST in other departments, the guidelines should be similar in spirit, but should take account of the different nature of the field.

Thesis Defense Grade

Each senior presents their thesis during the final oral Thesis Defense. The senior will typically present the Thesis in about 15 minutes. This presentation is followed by 15-20 minutes of questions on the Thesis and Thesis-related topics with time split among members of the Thesis committee.

The grade on the Thesis defense will be decided by the committee based on the student presentation of the Thesis, the student answers to the questions on the Thesis, their general understanding of the Thesis topic and its execution, and their understanding of the broader Thesis-related topics.

A+ : outstanding knowledge, understanding, and presentation of the Thesis work, results, and the broader scientific topic.

A : excellent/very-good knowledge, understanding and presentation of the Thesis work, results, and broader scientific topic.

A- : very good (on above items); some misses in either the knowledge, understanding, or presentation

B+ : good; some of the knowledge, understanding, or presentation could have been better

B : some lack of knowledge or understanding of the project

B- or below: more substantial lack of knowledge or understanding of the Thesis work and related topics.

In addition, of course, each student will receive a grade on their Senior Thesis itself, following the ST guidelines listed above.

Astrophysics Comprehensive Exam (Oral)

This is the third part of the final oral defense for seniors: 15-20 minutes of questions (in equal parts by each member of the committee) on general topics in astronomy and astrophysics. We generally recommend to the students to review F. Shu's introductory book in Astronomy, "The Physical Universe," as well as their class notes and textbooks from their upper-level Astro courses. 

The grade on this part of the exam does not appear separately on the student transcript; it is averaged together with the Thesis defense grade into an overall "Senior Departmental Exam."

For this grade, the grading guidelines are equivalent to those listed above for the Thesis Defense, but of course apply to the student's general knowledge of Astrophysics.

Examples of Astro JPs & Senior Theses

A Search for High Redshift Type II Quasars from the SDSS BOSS Survey (rmalexan.pdf)

JP, By Rachael M. Alexandroff

New Frontiers in Exoplanet Detection: High Contrast Imaging with Subaru (dressingThesis.pdf)

Senior Thesis, By Courtney Danielle Dressing

Where Are the Missing Baryons in Clusters? (bilhudathesis-2.pdf)

Senior Thesis, By Bilhuda Rasheed

Simulations of External Shocks in Gamma-Ray Bursts (wellonsthesis-1.pdf)

Senior Thesis, By Sarah Wellons

Undergraduate prizes awarded to six students for academic achievement

Princeton students honored at Opening Exercises gather with President Christopher L. Eisgruber (back row, left) and Dean of the College Michael D. Gordin (far right). The students are (front row, from left) Braeden Carroll, Caroline Zhao and Ram Narayanan, and (back row, from left), Connie Gong, Akshat Agarwal, and Ian Henriques.

Princeton University celebrated the academic accomplishments of its students with the awarding of undergraduate prizes to six students at Opening Exercises on Sunday, Sept. 1.

“I’m honored to be able to celebrate this year’s prize winners,” said Dean of the College Michael D. Gordin. “While Princeton is fortunate to be home to a good many students who are justly proud of their exceptional records of accomplishment, these prize winners stand out.

“In addition to achieving great strides academically, in their wide-ranging programs of study they boldly exemplify the heart of our liberal arts mission,” Gordin said. “My colleagues and I congratulate them warmly and are eager to follow their continued success.”

Freshman First Honor Prize

Ram Narayanan received the Freshman First Honor Prize, awarded each year in recognition of exceptional academic achievement as a first-year student.

Narayanan, of Scarsdale, New York, attended Horace Mann School in the Bronx. A member of New College West, he is considering majoring in physics and pursuing minors in computer science, materials science and engineering, and applied and computational mathematics. He is a recipient of the 2024 Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize.

This summer, Narayanan was an intern in Princeton's ReMatch+ program, where he conducted materials research with Sanfeng Wu, assistant professor of physics. Narayanan also attended the Princeton Summer School on Condensed Matter Physics in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Study.

He is a member of the Princeton Society of Physics Students, Princeton Students in Quantum, and a Community Action leader.

The George B. Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize

This year’s George B. Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize is shared by  Akshat Agarwal and  Braeden Carroll . The prize is awarded each year to members of the junior class in recognition of exceptional academic achievement during their sophomore year.

Agarwal, of Princeton, attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North. A member of Yeh College, he is a mathematics major who is also pursuing minors in history, statistics and machine learning, and applied and computational mathematics. He has served as an undergraduate course assistant in mathematics and computer science.

Outside the classroom, Agarwal is president of the student-run group Business Today and managing director of Princeton Undergraduate Capital Partners, which helps students gain industry experience in venture capital. He is also a member of the Princeton International Relations Council.

This summer, he conducted machine learning research in the lab of Adji Bousso Dieng, assistant professor of computer science.

Carroll, of Kinnelon, New Jersey, attended Kinnelon High School there. A recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence for the 2022–23 academic year, he is a civil and environmental engineering major who is also pursuing a minor in finance. He is a member of Rockefeller College.

Outside the classroom, Carroll is a member of the Princeton lightweight rowing team. In 2023, he completed a High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) internship with the Blue Lab, led by Allison Carruth, professor of American studies and HMEI, investigating the long-term impacts of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

This summer, he conducted research with civil and environmental engineering professors Maria Garlock and Branko Glisic to help design a hybrid structure for Osaka, Japan, that can serve as both a bridge and a flood barrier. The project aims to create a structure that does not draw energy from the grid to operate.

The George B. Wood Legacy Junior Prize

This year’s George B. Wood Legacy Junior Prize is shared by  Connie Gong and Caroline Zhao . The prize is awarded to members of the senior class in recognition of exceptional academic achievement during their junior year.

Gong is from Belmont, California, where she attended Carlmont High School. A recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence for the 2021–22 academic year, she is a sociology major who is also pursuing minors in environmental studies, and statistics and machine learning. She is a member of Butler College.

Her senior thesis will focus on the attitudes of formerly incarcerated people towards prison labor on the “farm line” at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, widely known as Angola. Gong is conducting her research in partnership with the nonprofit Louisiana Parole Project. Her adviser is John Robinson III, assistant professor of sociology.

Gong is the co-president of the Princeton Conservation Society, a student-run group focused on the environment. She was previously a peer academic adviser for Butler College. She serves as an undergraduate course assistant in SML 201: Introduction to Data Science and is a head fellow at the Princeton Writing Center.

This summer, Gong interned at the Missouri State Public Defender’s Trial Division Office in St. Louis, supported by a Summer Social Impact Internship through the Center for Career Development. She has also interned internationally as a teaching assistant with the Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs through the High Meadows Environmental Institute.

Zhao, of Westfield, New Jersey, attended Union County Magnet High School in Scotch Plains. A two-time recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence, she is a chemical and biological engineering major who is also pursuing minors in finance and computer science. She is a member of Butler College.

Her senior thesis will focus on developing biological enzyme system models to investigate the use of cellulose as a sustainable biofuel. Her adviser is Jerelle Joseph, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering and bioengineering.

Outside the classroom, Zhao is president of both the Princeton Engineering Council and the Princeton Bridge Club, a coxswain for the Princeton lightweight rowing team, a SHARE Peer, and a student manager of the Ultraviolet Recording Studio in Bloomberg Hall.

Zhao has been a precept assistant in computer science and will serve as an undergraduate course assistant in economics this fall. She is also a volunteer with Princeton's Special Olympics Rowing program, a partnership between the Student Volunteers Council and Special Olympics.

She worked this summer at Bain Capital as a private equity summer analyst.

Class of 1939 Princeton  Scholar Award

Ian Henriques received the Class of 1939 Princeton Scholar Award, which is awarded each year to the undergraduate who, at the end of junior year, has achieved the highest academic standing for all preceding college work at the University.

Henriques, of Winter Springs, Florida, attended Seminole High School in Sanford. A two-time recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence, he is an electrical and computer engineering major who is also pursuing a minor in neuroscience. He received the Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize in 2022.  Henriques is a member of Rockefeller College.

For his senior thesis, he plans to work with Niraj Jha, professor of electrical and computer engineering, with a focus on computer architecture and machine learning.

Outside of the classroom, Henriques is co-president of the Princeton University Robotics Club. In 2023, he co-led the winning team at Harvard University's PacBot Competition, in which students build robots to navigate a Pac-Man-inspired course. Princeton's Robotics Club earned the highest score in the competition's history and shared first place with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Henriques is also the co-leader of Princeton's Loaves and Fishes program with the Diocese of Trenton, which provides meals to homeless and low-income individuals. He has served as a teaching assistant for several engineering, physics and mathematics courses.

This summer, he interned at the AI chip technology firm Nvidia.

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Electrical and Computer Engineering

Rising senior ian henriques wins award for highest academic standing.

Princeton students honored at Opening Exercises gather with President Christopher L. Eisgruber (back row, left) and Dean of the College Michael D. Gordin (far right). The students are (front row, from left) Braeden Carroll, Caroline Zhao and Ram Narayanan, and (back row, from left), Connie Gong, Akshat Agarwal, and Ian Henriques. Photo by Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications

Ian Henriques, undergraduate in electrical and computer engineering *25, received the Class of 1939 Princeton Scholar Award for having achieved the highest academic standing for all preceding college work at the University at the end of junior year.

Henriques said one of his favorite courses so far has been the Car Lab, a required course for every ECE major where they build their own autonomous vehicles. “It gave us an opportunity to work on a project end to end, and there’s a lot of creativity involved,” he said. “My teammate and I built a robot that walks around and if it encounters a laser, it starts meowing and chasing it like a cat.”

Outside of the classroom, Henriques is co-president of the Princeton University Robotics Club. In 2023, he co-led the winning team at Harvard University’s PacBot Competition, in which students build robots to navigate a Pac-Man-inspired course. Princeton’s Robotics Club earned the highest score in the competition’s history and shared first place with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Henriques is also the co-leader of Princeton’s Loaves and Fishes program with the Diocese of Trenton, which provides meals to homeless and low-income individuals. He has served as a teaching assistant for several engineering, physics and mathematics courses.

This summer, he interned at the AI chip technology firm Nvidia. “I’m still deciding on exactly what I want to do after graduation, but I know it’ll be related to software,” he said. “I’m really interested in self-driving cars, mobile robots, things like that.”

Henriques is a two-time recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence, and received the Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize in 2022. For his senior thesis, he plans to work with Niraj Jha, professor of electrical and computer engineering, with a focus on computer architecture and machine learning.

Princeton University celebrated the academic accomplishments of its students with the awarding of undergraduate prizes to students at Opening Exercises on Sunday, Sept. 1.

Princeton University

Dean encourages incoming students to seize opportunities and form strong bonds at princeton.

By Molly Sharlach

August 28, 2024

Members of the engineering Class of 2028 gathered for a welcoming ceremony in the Friend Center courtyard. Photos by Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy

Welcoming the incoming engineering class Aug. 26, Dean Andrea Goldsmith called on students to make the most of Princeton’s opportunities, embrace risk-taking, and form strong bonds with faculty members and fellow students.

“I hope that every one of you will take advantage of all that Princeton has to offer its undergraduates, and that you will find yourselves transformed by your experience here and the friends and the mentors you will encounter on your journey to becoming an educated citizen of the world,” said  Goldsmith , the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“This is a very exciting time to be a student in SEAS,” she added, noting the growth in numbers of faculty, graduate students and undergraduates, as well as new buildings in progress for the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

With a record 459 first-year students, engineering undergraduates represent about 32% of the entering Class of 2028. Around 42% of the first-year engineering students are women, a figure that is well above the U.S. average for engineering undergraduates, said Goldsmith.

Emphasizing the importance of diversity along all dimensions, she said, “The engineering profession needs that diversity of ideas, experiences and perspectives to create the best technology that will change the world for the better.”

Goldsmith said that students would have the opportunity to form strong bonds with engineering faculty members through both coursework and senior thesis research — highlighting the senior thesis and independent work as a unique aspect of engineering education at Princeton.

She also encouraged students to learn from their peers, both within and beyond the engineering school, and to embrace the breadth of a liberal arts education, “because what you learn will make you a better engineer and a better engineering leader.”

Sharing her own journey to becoming an engineer, a startup founder and an academic leader, Goldsmith told students to take risks and to not be afraid of failure. She also related the challenges she faced as a first-year student that nearly caused her to stop pursuing engineering.

“If you haven’t failed, you haven’t taken enough risks and you haven’t set your aspirations high enough. And I hope that all of you will do that during your time here and beyond.”

Goldsmith said she looked forward to meeting students individually and invited them to share their feedback and perspectives.

“Even as the dean, I continue to supervise and mentor students, and this has always been the very best part of being a faculty member,” she said. “I welcome the opportunity to hear your ideas, learn about your experiences at Princeton, and provide you with my own perspective and experience that might be helpful as you craft your own professional journey.”

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Andrea Goldsmith

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