School of Engineering and Computer Science
Engineering Physics
The Engineering Physics program at University of the Pacific is offered through the cooperation of the Physics Department in the College of the Pacific and the School of Engineering and Computer Science. The Engineering Physics program is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Engineering Physics is a field which provides broad training in physics and mathematics and basic training in engineering and design. The practitioner of engineering physics is often involved in the development of new devices and products using sophisticated physical concepts.
The engineering physics curriculum educates students to work in areas where technology is changing rapidly and where the boundaries of several traditional engineering disciplines overlap. The curriculum develops sufficient depth in both engineering and science to produce students who are able to relate basic knowledge to practical problems in engineering. The engineering physicist is a person with the training of an applied physicist, the inclination to attack novel as well as routine problems in engineering, and the flexibility to exploit basic knowledge in any branch of science.
Example areas of multidisciplinary fields in need of engineering physicists include:
- robotics
- mechatronics
- micromachines
- lasers
- medical imaging and instrumentation
- electronic materials
- nanostructures
- semiconductor processing
- superconductivity
- optics
- quantum electronics
- plasmas
Students typically pick an electrical or mechanical engineering emphasis to augment their physics courses. Students can customize their degree to their area of interest with the help of their faculty advisors.
All Engineering Physics students complete a Senior Design Project, which provides an opportunity to apply engineering fundamentals and design methods to the solution of a real problem. Example projects include an automatic digital blood pressure monitor, a laser display system, a magnetic levitation system and a text-to-speech system.
Pacific's Co-op Program offers paid internships with major firms such as:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Sandia National Laboratory
- Cisco Systems
- Nvidia
- Lockheed Martin
- Boeing
- Intel
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- NASA Ames Research Center
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
