<p>How does Williams College's physics program compare to other LACs, especially Harvey Mudd?</p>
<p>No liberal arts college can compete with the breadth or depth of science offerings at Harvey Mudd, just like no university can compete with MIT/CalTech. But if you want a stellar physics education as part of a well-rounded liberal arts experience, you can’t beat Williams. Heck, Williams students have won FOUR of the past dozen or so Apker awards, and only one is awarded each year to a non-PhD institution: </p>
<p>[Chris</a> Chudzicki awarded Leroy Apker Award | Office of Communications](<a href=“http://communications.williams.edu/news-releases/chudzicki-apker/]Chris”>http://communications.williams.edu/news-releases/chudzicki-apker/)</p>
<p>Also check out what Physics grads from Williams end up doing:</p>
<p>[Graduates</a> | Physics](<a href=“http://physics.williams.edu/people/graduates/]Graduates”>http://physics.williams.edu/people/graduates/)</p>
<p>Lots of very impressive PhD programs, including, in just the past five years, CalTech (2), MIT (2), Princeton (5!), Yale, and Harvard, and jobs at places like NASA, Raytheon, and impressive start-up companies. Basically, if you major in Physics at Williams and perform well, you can essentially write your ticket to any job or grad program that you desire.</p>
<p>Thanks Ephman, that sounds very good. Does Williams have any sort of research areas in particle physics or high energy? I know that LACs have less funding than private universities and so they cannot attain the same facilities, but does Williams have anything in that area? I have looked in the ‘Research’ page on the Williams Physics website and there seems to be one such area. My real question was what facilities do they have for research?</p>
<p>is a bit outside my knowledge wheelhouse (aka, I have no idea). I recommend reaching out to a current Physics major or professor at Williams and asking them. For example, it seems like this professor does some serious research, involving undergrads, in this area, and I’m sure he could provide info on what sort of facilities Williams has available for student use:</p>
<p>[Prof</a>. Tucker-Smith Awarded NSF Grant | Physics](<a href=“http://physics.williams.edu/physics-dept-news/prof-david-tucker-smith-awarded-nsf-grant-2012/]Prof”>http://physics.williams.edu/physics-dept-news/prof-david-tucker-smith-awarded-nsf-grant-2012/)</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, I’ll do that.</p>
<p>You may want to google Chad Orzel–he’s a physics prof and Williams grad ('93, iirc) with a popular blog and a few well-regarded popular science books to his credit. He’s a really nice guy and might respond to an email. </p>
<p>William Wootters (current prof.) is frequently mentioned in Nobel discussions for his work on quantum information. I know zero about that, though (poetry major).</p>