Nanoscience, Physics and Chemistry of Advanced Materials

plmko

What's the course like from a students point-of-view?
Care to share subject details if you study this course?
What's strengths do you need?
What's the class standard like?
Advantages? Disadvantages?
What to expect?
Tips to get the points for this demanding course?

Thankyou! Any information at all is much appreciated

Mr Pseudonym

First two years shared with Science. Points greatly inflated because of small number of places, which will likely lead to much fluctuation.

plmko

@Mr Pseudonym fluctuation! Great, so would you say it will fluctuate up or down next year? As a matter of interest, are you a NPCAM student?

Mr Pseudonym

plmko wrote: »

@Mr Pseudonym fluctuation! Great, so would you say it will fluctuate up or down next year? As a matter of interest, are you a NPCAM student?

Lol! Erm...I did a year of Science two years ago, and shared my lectures (Physics, Chemistry, and Maths) with NPCAM-ers - before it was cool (it was less than 500 points then)! I will bet at least three euro that the points will fall. One need only look at Theoretical Physics (last three years: 490, 540, 490) for a precedent.

I'm not sure I can help you with much, but if you've got any Q's, don't hesitate, etc.

bscm

Mr Pseudonym wrote: »

Lol! Erm...I did a year of Science two years ago, and shared my lectures (Physics, Chemistry, and Maths) with NPCAM-ers - before it was cool (it was less than 500 points then)! I will bet at least three euro that the points will fall. One need only look at Theoretical Physics (last three years: 490, 540, 490) for a precedent.

You can't ignore the news stories about the funding going into CRANN though... TPs rarely gets a mention when the SFI/private companies invest in research. I remember when I sat the Leaving Cert, a lot of investment was made into science sectors, and points went through the roof for General Science.

bscm

plmko wrote: »

What's the course like from a students point-of-view?
Care to share subject details if you study this course?
What's strengths do you need?
What's the class standard like?
Advantages? Disadvantages?
What to expect?
Tips to get the points for this demanding course?

Thankyou! Any information at all is much appreciated

You sit Maths, Chemistry and Physics modules with General Science, Medicinal Chemistry etc, students. Expect up to 200 students per lecture in First Year. Second year is when a lot of biologists/geologists drop Chemistry and Maths so the lecture sizes drop.

Can't speak for Third Year as I'm in Astrophysics but we share one or two physics lectures with Nanos.

You only really specialise in Third Year. Expect Leaving Cert or slightly above that level material in First Year for Physics/Maths/Chemistry. In Second Year the material level increases, you also do a nano/materials module.

Advantages would be research opportunities. A lot of money is pumped into material science research.

stealinhorses

Hey, I'm in third year of NPCAM now, here's a post describing the first two years of the course, that I wrote for someone a couple of months ago:

You do the same modules as science students but they are pre-chosen for you, i.e. you have to do physics, chemistry and maths.

In first year, the first few months until Christmas is basically just LC revision and then you start learning a few new things.

In physics, you do mechanics (very handy if you did applied maths), waves (light, sound, etc.), electromagnetism (charges, Ampere's law, emf, etc.), astronomy (solar system, how planets form, what are galaxies, methods of observing the Milky Way, etc.), modern physics (photoelectric effect and basics of quantum mechanics, basic concepts of particle physics and relativity, etc.) and another module to do with molecular structure (length variation due to temperature, mc(delta)(theta) type equations from LC, estimating number of atoms in a given volume, etc.). You also have biweekly small group tutorials with a random physics lecturer who will set you a few homework questions, or else you can just ask him to explain problems to you. You will get weekly online assignments as each lecture course progresses and weekly 3 hour long labs for which you have to write reports.

In chemistry, you start off with basics such as what is a mole, groups of the periodic table, trends, history of the atom, etc. Then modules on kinetic gas theory that lead into chemical kinetics (rate of reaction and what affects it, again calculating amount of atoms in a given thing, etc.). Stuff on transition elements, so a lot to do with colour and coordination compounds. Then very specific modules on given groups in the periodic table, e.g. whole lectures on sulfur, carbon and its allotropes, oxygen, halogens, etc. Then after Christmas the focus shifts to organic chemistry (nomenclature, stuff on hydrocarbons from LC, introduction to aromatic compounds, simple ways of synthesising organic compounds, their uses and going over certain rules like Markovnikov and Zaitsev addition, Sn1 and Sn2 reactions, etc.). There is also a big module on VSEPR theory (shapes that molecules take when combining, s, p and d electronic orbitals, ionisation energies, etc.). Again, 3 hour long labs every week with a report due the next week. No special homework tutorials or online assignments.

In maths, you concentrate on calculus and linear algebra. Before Christmas it was things like limits, finding and defining the derivative, rules of differentiation, drawing graphs of functions, learning properties of functions and things along those lines in calculus. In linear algebra it was Gaussian elimination, operations on matrices and basics of the binary system. After Christmas in calculus you begin defining integration, learning the rules of integration and little tricks, then applying both integration and differentiation to practical problems and sequences and series to finish off the year. In algebra you do things with matrices again, operations on vectors, some probability and some manipulations of the Cartesian plane.
(I know that Project Maths has changed things so these could be radically different, however I wouldn't expect anything more difficult or hugely different, calc will definitely be there).
Weekly tutorials for both math modules, during which you have to complete a set of problems (you do it while talking with friends and asking the tutor for help).

There are 6 exams at the end of the year, two for physics, two for chem and two for maths. One for before and second for after Christmas material.

As for the course itself, it is quite competitive. I had the 7th best LC result out of 16 people with 550/600 when I came into first year and the people in my course are top of the science course in general when it comes to grades. 50% of us got firsts in the second year exams in April this year, which is not comparable to something like just the physics/chem class in science where most people have repeats. The atmosphere however stimulates good learning habits while there is still also plenty of fun, as everyone is a nerd but not the creepy kind, just more the intelligent but socially acceptable type .

Second year in physics sees a big step up in lab commitments. Experiments take weeks and not just one hour like the year before. There are also computer labs and a poster project. No online assignments, but midterm homework which is checked and reviewed with you by a random physics lecturer again. The modules studied are quantum mechanics, special relativity, thermodynamics, optics, electrical circuits, oscillations, nuclear physics and materials science specifically for nanoscience.
The materials module is only taken by PCAM students and deals with molecular structure, diffusion, production of silicon wafers, phase diagrams, different types of steel and ways to make it, doping and stuff on semiconductors and the properties of materials such as stress, strain, ductility, hardness, elasticity, etc. A lot of graphs and new vocabulary.

Chemistry becomes way more difficult in 2nd year. While you could get by on LC knowledge in 1st year, second year is a lot of studying for chem if you want to do well. Topics covered include crystal field theory, ligand field theory, linear combinations of atomic orbitals, cancer treatment, radioactivity, poisonous effects of chemicals, Schrodinger equation and quantum effects. In organic you're dealing with stereochemistry, aromatic chemistry, retrosynthesis, new methods of making molecules and getting there by taking different manufacturing paths. Some surface chemistry and reaction rates again, thermodynamics and ways of modelling chemical reactions using computer methods such as Hartree-Fock and Density Field Theory. Labs are similar to first year, but the biggest thing about 2nd year chem is Broad Curriculum - i.e. a group project where for half a year you have to research, write a report and perform a presentation on a topic to do with chemistry that the group chooses. It's worth 5% of the grade and is a huge waste of time.

In maths you do multivariable calculus, which is double and triple integration, vector calculus which is applying these methods of integration to real life phenomena, Fourier analysis and differential equations, which is dealing with functions a lot and loads of integration tricks again and mechanics from a more mathematical point of view rather than just tricks like in the first year physics course. Weekly tutorials of course.

There are 8 exams at the end of the year and in fairness, they are pretty difficult. They are math-heavy and you will find yourself lost for the first few weeks into nearly all physics and some chem courses. This is however normal and eventually you get the hang of it (or else you dont at all with thermodynamics and circuits ).

At the end of second year we got a tour of CRANN and saw some awesome labs. Oh yeah, for the first 2 years you get biweekly topical tutorials in nanoscience, where your course coordinator invites guests from CRANN to describe their research and generally talk about advances in nanotechnology (this is often very basic and there is no homework or anything like that, but you get to ask questions etc).

In 3rd year, the chem and physics modules are more geared towards nanoscience and there is no more maths. There are weekly labs for all of Friday which take place in special labs dedicated just for JS NPCAM students and combine both physics and chemistry, with focus on structure of materials and physical/chemical properties of microscopic systems.


If you have any questions I could try answering them.

plmko

Thankyou all for your generous contributions! Particularly you stealinhorses! Reading all that was so exciting. I must say though I was disappointed to hear the lack of maths in third year.

I read on the Trinity website that you have to do a project in 4th year. Could you tell me anything you know about that please?

plmko

Mr Pseudonym wrote: »

Lol! Erm...I did a year of Science two years ago, and shared my lectures (Physics, Chemistry, and Maths) with NPCAM-ers - before it was cool (it was less than 500 points then)! I will bet at least three euro that the points will fall. One need only look at Theoretical Physics (last three years: 490, 540, 490) for a precedent.

I'm not sure I can help you with much, but if you've got any Q's, don't hesitate, etc.

Yes I was shocked to hear that TP dropped that much. I suppose students opting for that decided to choose NPCAM instead?

Hahah three euro; you seem pretty confident. (in this economic climate anyway)

Mr Pseudonym

plmko wrote: »

Yes I was shocked to hear that TP dropped that much. I suppose students opting for that decided to choose NPCAM instead?

Hahah three euro; you seem pretty confident. (in this economic climate anyway)

I've a few theories as to why it happened, but I won't give them cause they're probs wrong. The TPhys median fluctuates a lot less than the minimum, so it's likely only a small change in preferences leads to the swings. Also, Maths BPs account for a little of the jump in 2012.

I said at least! I could be pushed to wager a fiver. Best of luck if you're going for it - I'll be sure to check if my prediction proved accurate!

stealinhorses

plmko wrote: »

I read on the Trinity website that you have to do a project in 4th year. Could you tell me anything you know about that please?

Sure. The project is worth about 20% of your total degree and involves you undertaking some research for 3-4 months depending on what you do. You can stay in Trinity and do your project in CRANN or with a research group from the School of Physics or the School of Chemistry. Most people however choose to go abroad, which is a great perk that goes with doing NPCAM.

There are many possible destinations:

Canada and USA are options that are available through the TASSEP program, you can look it up online, it's an exchange scheme for physics/chem students across the Atlantic. They have a list of participating universities on their site.

ERASMUS is an exchange program that allows students to go to European universities. Destinations include many German and French universities, as well as some in Italy, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, England and Holland. These could however change by the time you get to go on your project!

IMEC or, Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre, is an institution that focuses on research and manufacturing of electronic devices from semi-conductors (computer chips) and solar cells to designing prosthetics and implementing lithographic methods of manufacturing. You can read all about these on their website.

There is also an exchange program with a university in Australia.


In order to be allowed go you need to have pretty good grades (not amazing, but not near failing) and often have a good amount of money to invest into your trip (flights/accommodation/food, etc.), as due to recent budget cuts not much of it is covered by Trinity.
Once you are offered a place, you get in touch with a researcher from the department where you will be doing your research and they will propose a project for you to do. You do your experiments, write a 30+ page report on your findings and submit it for grading. When you get back to Trinity/finish your project, you also have to present it in the form of a poster and defend your work in front of professors.

I am in 3rd year now, so I'll be doing my project starting in August/September until Christmas, so I'll be able to tell you more about it then