Physics and Computer Science

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Rochester
1

<p>As an accepted student, I'm currently looking into University of Rocheser, RIT, Clarkson and Cornell.</p>

<p>After going for SOC, I was surprised by the lack of science and engineering at Rochester. So, in that context I ask out to others looking into (or in) Rochester.</p>

<p>What can you tell me about Rochester's Physics and Computer Science programs? Would doing a double major in these two be possible (even with the cluster requirements)?</p>

<p>I'm curious as to what these areas at Rochester would offer that could convince me to look away from Cornell and make me leave the better deals (financially) at RIT and Clarkson.</p>

2

<p>Lack of science and engineering at Rochester... Wow.
Are you sure that you are talking about the right school???
We just built a 33 million dollar engineering building- state of the art labs
We have one of the top physics programs, our chemistry department is highly recognized and same with biology
We have a whole medical school filled with researchers in the biomedical sciences- hundreds upon hundreds
Doing a double major in physics and comp sci is possible- there are some overlapping courses. You might have to take a couple of summer courses. You would just have to plan everything out from the beginning.</p>

3

<p>hopkinslax: word, lol. It really makes me worry about what these SOCs are telling people about UR.</p>

<p>I actually read this post awhile ago, I was just too lazy/tired to answer. I'm just tired of having to sell/defend my school to all people who obviously haven't done their research. Oh well, =P</p>

<p>Just some scientists to note at UR:</p>

<p>Professor Charles B. Duke Speaking at the Montroll Lectures - <a href="http://www.pas.rochester.edu/%7Ebodek/duke/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~bodek/duke/index.html&lt;/a> He is a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society, the American Physical Society, and the IEEE. He received the Welch Award in Vacuum Science and Technology (1977) and the Pake Prize of the American Physical Society (2006). In 1981 he was named one of the ISI 1000 internationally most cited scientists. </p>

<p>Professor John H. Werren and John Jaenike (my current intro bio professor) - Pioneers and World's Top Experts on Wolbachia: the endosymbiont that's captured the interest of biologists all over the world. Their research is featured in the Nature Article : "Meet the Herod Bug" <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v412/n6842/full/412012a0.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v412/n6842/full/412012a0.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Professor William Jones (CalTech, MIT - my current Organic Chem Honors Lab Professor) - Groundbreaking research in chemistry featured in the article: Three University Researchers Win Nation's Top Chemistry Award <a href="http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=902%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=902&lt;/a>
Jones focuses on chemically converting the hydrocarbons in petroleum directly into more valuable materials that are used in end products like medicines, plastics or other fuels. Jones is also working to cut the amount of sulfur in gasoline and diesel fuels. Sulfur is a key component of acid rain and the Environmental Protection Agency has demanded that the amount of sulfur in gasoline must be 20 times lower by 2006.</p>

<p>This is just a sampling of the experts that teach students/do research at UR. Other schools have their experts, we have ours =)</p>

<p>UR has programs in almost all types of engineering - with Optics Engineering being our very best. UR's optics trains almost all of the country's laser energetics experts and our optics program is considered close to being #1. The UR Laboratory for Laser Energetics houses the world's most powerful UV laser. With the completion of the OMEGA EP laser in 2007, it will be the only laser in the world capable of fully integrated cryogenic fast-ignition experiments.</p>

<p>So whats this about no science/engineering?</p>

4

<p>Thank you for the replies. While I never said that there was "no" science and engineering, it was quite disturbing to have SOC at a place so known for such things (in all publications, statements, etc), only to be discussed in the context of liberal arts (mostly political science).</p>

<p>I didn't want to discount Rochester because of the one tour guide I ended up with - that would be a foolish case of overlooking everything. However, it is very relaxing to know that there are people so willing to step up and talk about the great science offered.</p>

<p>As a note to Awakien, I did research Rochester and I've found it really interesting in everything it offers. I understand the awsome availablity of research at an undergraduate level and I've read alot about the various achievements of the sciences. At the same time, though, not hearing it in person is really annoying. When I come for an "engineering day" at SOC, I expected to hear about engineering and the new biomedical/optics building. Unfortunately, biomedical engineering wasn't really discussed and engineering on a whole seemed to be an afterthough.</p>

<p>However, I am repeating myself now. Thank you again for both replies and helping to show that Rochester isn't the pure liberal arts school so advertised at my SOC.</p>

5

<p>Hey msouva, no problem. Sorry we sort of jumped down your throat, it just seemed like a really outrageous statement to me at the time but I understand that if you got a poli sci major as a tour guide, it's very possible that you might have gotten a very skewed picture of science at the university.</p>

<p>I have a good friend who's a poli sci major who's really proud of the poli sci program here too =P. I did some research myself and I found this:
<a href="http://www.stat.tamu.edu/%7Ejnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc41.html#area39%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc41.html#area39&lt;/a>
Rochester's Political Science Program is ranked 11th by the National Research Council's 1995 study of Research at National Universities. I did not know that! Thing is, most of us in the sciences have no idea what goes on in the other departments and likewise for the non-sciences about the sciences. It guess it's just how all universities are structured I guess (although it believe it's kinda hard not to notice the enormous multimillion dollar BME building being erected)</p>

<p>on that note, BME Research at UR : Ranked 15th on the same page <a href="http://www.stat.tamu.edu/%7Ejnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc41.html#area20%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc41.html#area20&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>In any case, congratulations on being accepted to both Cornell and UR. I was reading some of your posts and I couldn't help but wonder what your financial aid situation is with Rochester. I might be able to help you make a decision as to which school is the best deal for you (both financially and in terms of the kind of education you get). I know it might be too early to tell, but what is your current prospective major and what are your current plans for post-undergrad years? Are you pretty set on what you want to study or are you planning on trying a bunch of things before making a choice?</p>

6

<p>I think SOC put the emphasis on the liberal arts/humanities/social sciences simply because Rochester is so well-known for the sciences and engineering, and the research opportunities for undergrads. They wanted to reach out to the other students, like my d, who want to make sure that there's something at UR for them. </p>

<p>The one thing that impressed me at UR is that every professor teaches undergraduates, and famous researchers (in science and liberal arts) may actually teach intro courses. I'm not sure how true that is at your other choices.</p>

7

<p>Well, thanks again for the replies. I suppose I can understand that if Rochester is looking for more liberal arts students, more publicity would be the best track.</p>

<p>Yes, Cornell stands as my "top pick" school from a personal standpoint, but is outside my reach financially. I am going to receive $10,000 a year in a scholarship from Rochester, which makes UR more (but uncertain if it quite is) doable. Of course, such details don't make UR "hated" by any means. Instead, if money were not a problem, I'd just see myself at Cornell. However, going to Rochester is quite fine too - the smaller school setting makes it actually a nicer transition from a small high school and allows for better interaction with faculty and students.</p>

<p>Currently my interests lie in Physics and Computer Science (a strange combination, but so it goes). As such, Cornell interested me in its College of Engineering where I could explore both Engineering Physics and CS. However, at Rochester, I've been exploring standard Physics and CS.</p>

<p>Depending on which I end up sticking with (or both, perhaps), I am thinking different paths after my undergrad years. If I end up in the EP or Physics route, I might consider grad school, but I don't quite know. In the CS path, I hope to go out and find a job and then, eventually, go after a master's down the road.</p>

<p>However, such plans are quite sketchy at this point. My final decisions depend significantly on the college experiance. Should I run into a course that sends me in a different direction, I'd be more than willing to follow that course of action. So, essentially, I want to follow my given majors but, should I run into something else more interesting, I think I'd take that path. However, that is limited to the areas of math/science/engineering/CS and whatnot.</p>