Good courses for an engineering physics graduate?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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Hi. I will be a visiting student in Fall 2015/Spring 2016 at berkeley. I am currently in my 3rd year of a 5 year MS Engineering Physics program at my school. By Fall 2015, at the end of my 3rd year, I will effectively have the equivalent of a BSc in Applied Physics + engineering courses in Circuit analysis, Control theory, Programming (c++ and matlab) and Fluid Mechanics.

That taken into account, which higher-level courses do you think are most useful for an engineering Physics Grad? I want to work in nano tech but at the same time I’m not 100% sure, so I’d like to play it safe and choose general but useful courses. And why are there so few photonics and optics courses available at Berkeley? And are there any good courses covering numerical analysis & simulations, and classic transport theory?

My current choice for the 4th year courses: The number after “;” is the amount of credits for the course.

Fall 2015

Physics 221A Quantum Mechanics; 5 (Graduate)
“Basic assumptions of quantum mechanics; quantum theory of measurement; matrix mechanics; Schroedinger theory; symmetry and invariance principles; theory of angular momentum; stationary state problems; variational principles; time independent perturbation theory; time dependent perturbation theory; theory of scattering.”

Nuclear Engineering 101; 4
“Energetics and kinetics of nuclear reactions and radioactive decay, fission, fusion, and reactions of low-energy neutrons; properties of the fission products and the actinides; nuclear models and transition probabilities; interaction of radiation with matter.”

Physics 191 Quantum Information; 3
“This multidisciplinary course provides an introduction to fundamental conceptual aspects of quantum mechanics from a computational and informational theoretic perspective, as well as physical implementations and technological applications of quantum information science. Basic sections of quantum algorithms, complexity, and cryptography, will be touched upon, as well as pertinent physical realizations from nanoscale science and engineering. Also listed as Chemistry C191 and Computer Science C191.”

Physics C201 Nanoscale Science and Engineering; 3 (Graduate) (I think I might not take this course so as to avoid a too heavy workload)
“A three-module introduction to the fundamental topics of Nano-Science and Engineering (NSE) theory and research within chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering. This course includes quantum and solid-state physics; chemical synthesis, growth fabrication, and characterization techniques; structures and properties of semiconductors, polymer, and biomedical materials on nanoscales; and devices based on nanostructures. Students must take this course to satisfy the NSE Designated Emphasis core requirement. Also listed as Bioengineering C280, Materials Science and Engineering C261, and Physics C201.”

Spring 2016

Physics 221B Quantum Mechanics; 5 (Graduate)
“Many-body methods, radiation field quantization, relativistic quantum mechanics, applications.”

NE155 Intro Num. Simulations in Radiation Transport; 3 (this course seems kind of basic, but I need to learn more numerics stuff)
“Computational methods used to analyze radiation transport described by various differential, integral, and integro-differential equations. Numerical methods include finite difference, finite elements, discrete ordinates, and Monte Carlo. Examples from neutron and photon transport; numerical solutions of neutron/photon diffusion and transport equations. Monte Carlo simulations of photon and neutron transport. An overview of optimization techniques for solving the resulting discrete equations on vector and parallel computer systems.”

Physics 141B Solid State Physics; 3
I can’t find any decent course description. Not even sure if I need this, considering I’m taking http://www.ntnu.edu/studies/courses/TFY4220/2012#tab=omEmnet right now

E120 Principles of Engineering Economics; 3
“Economic analysis for engineering decision making: Capital flows, effect of time and interest rate. Different methods of evaluation of alternatives. Minimum-cost life and replacement analysis. Depreciation and taxes. Uncertainty; preference under risk; decision analysis. Capital sources and their effects. Economic studies.”

EE130 Integrated-Circuit Devices; 4
“Overview of electronic properties of semiconductor. Metal-semiconductor contacts, pn junctions, bipolar transistors, and MOS field-effect transistors. Properties that are significant to device operation for integrated circuits. Silicon device fabrication technology.”

Are these decent choices? I feel that I am really lacking in engineering courses, but I have no clue as to which ones to pick…

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The courses above are just a rough draft, btw. I assume I will change the plan quite a bit when I get to Cali.

What I am looking for here are some tips and opinions on good courses relevant to my degree, because the course-list at Berkeley is completely different from the one at my school (Norwegian uni of science and tech). I have a pretty good idea what I’d pick if I took my 4th year here in Norway, but it’s practically impossible to find comparable courses in Berkeley.

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The best way to figure out if the courses are good for you or not is to attend all the classes that you are interested in for the first week or so and evaluate the instructor, the difficulty/workload of the class, and if the class is interesting enough for you to continue to take it. It’s gonna be a very tiring first week, but I can tell you from experience that it is the most informative decision-making process and you can hardly go wrong. Nobody will monitor you or even notice if you go to 10 different classes in 2 days, so feel free to do some shopping.

Since you won’t be coming here until next semester, do note that the schedule might change such as the time or location or the instructor, or even cancel or add classes at any time before the semester starts, so keep on checking.

What you chose are decent choices for a rough draft. I’m assuming you read the course descriptions and chose it based on your interest. Since you expressed interest in nano tech, I recommend whatever courses taught by Professor Liwei Lin and Clark Nguyen - they teach both undergrad and grad courses in ME or EE departments.

I do not know anything about photonics and optics, although I have to say physics and EE department are your best bet if you want to find one.

I do not know about classic transport theory, although my gut feeling is that at least the ME and the ChemE department would offer something regarding it.

As for numerical simulations & analysis, we have tons of classes on it. The Math 128A is the fundamental class that teaches what numerical analysis and do some exercise on Matlab, but if you want something more advanced, then I can assure you just about any engineering department will have at least 3~4 courses at either grad level or advanced undergrad level and you just need to decide which topic you want to delve into. My personal recommendation would be ME C201 in spring that you get to do at least 6 projects which involves both Matlab and C++ and you get to learn the latest industry technique in manufacturing with heavy emphasis on both theory and computation.

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Thanks man, I appreciate the tips!