Proposal to equip the teaching labs in the Richards Building with new computers Kurt Koetz, Horst Wahl Physics Department, FSU There are seven teaching lab classrooms in the Richards Building: named UPL 105, 107,109, 110, 112, 114, 211. The first six rooms are used for “recitation classes” (tutorial sessions) and laboratory classes in the large introductory physics courses PHY2048, PHY2049, PHY2053 and PHY2054, as well as for laboratory classes in introduction to astronomy, AST1002L, and for the Liberal Arts lab course PHY1020L. The 7th, UPL 211, is mainly used for the courses PHY 3801L (“Intermediate Physics lab”) and PHY4802L (“Advanced Physics Lab”). The computers presently available are pretty old, none of them having been acquired later than 2010. The use of computers is an integral part of all the introductory labs, and therefore it is essential for them to stay up‐to‐date with the standard software packages like Microsoft Office, as well as more specialized software only used in the physics environment. We have also embarked on a redefinition of the curricula for the introductory labs with the aim to make them more interesting for the students and more conducive to learning and understanding the concepts and the process involved in doing scientific experiments, including data taking and data analysis. We plan to replace some of the experiments and make the taking of data more efficient and less time‐consuming by using data acquisition interfaces to the computers. This will allow the students to spend more time on thinking and understanding the concepts and doing more sophisticated analysis of data than they have been able to do in the past. Another goal of this reshuffling of the introductory labs is to make the experiments more relevant to the previous experience and the interest of the students, thus allowing them to get more appreciation of how physics influences their lives. We have started this process with PHY 2053, the introductory physics course taken by, among others, biology majors and exercise science majors. In spring 2015 we are going to teach one special “Studio” section of this course, where we are replacing all the experiments so that they will study physics phenomena occurring in living tissue. We recently obtained funding to acquire the equipment for these experiments from the College of Arts and Sciences. If this is successful, we plan on expanding this to all sections of PHY2053 and PHY2054. After that we will also refurbish the laboratories for the courses PHY 2048 and the PHY 2049. The present computers in many cases will not easily be useful for this purpose. We therefore propose to replace the old computers in these classrooms with new ones. There are seven classrooms in the building for which we want to get new computers, with 10 computers in each of them. Adding three spares in case of malfunctioning of one of them, we need 73 computer systems to equip all the classrooms. The total cost of this is $73,310.25. Classes affected by having new computers in UPL classrooms The following classes taught by the Physics Department would benefit from having better computers in the classrooms: AST1002L, a Liberal Arts introductory astronomy laboratory course. Enrollment numbers: Spring 2014: 173, Summer 2014: 40, Fall 2014: 212 (120 minutes per week) PHY1020L, a Liberal Arts introductory physics laboratory course (120 minutes per week). Enrollment: Spring 2014: 75, Summer 2014: not offered, Fall 2014: 78 PHY2048C and PHY2049C the calculus‐based introductory physics courses for physical science majors (including physics, geology, chemistry, engineering). Enrollment: PHY2048 recitations (100 minutes per week), plus lab (180 minutes per week) Spring 2014: 196, Summer 2014: 74, Fall 2014: 199 PHY2049 recitations (100 minutes per week) plus lab (180 minutes per week) Spring 2014: 214, Summer 2014: 104, Fall 2014: 184 PHY2053C and PHY2054C the algebra‐based introductory physics courses for biological science majors (including biology, exercise science,…). Enrollment: PHY2053 recitations (75 minutes per week), plus lab (3 hours per week) Spring 2014: 242, Summer 2014: 120, Fall 2014: 467 PHY2054 recitations (75 minutes per week) plus lab (3 hours per week) Spring 2014: 399, Summer 2014: 87, Fall 2014: 206 PHY3802L and PHY4822L, the intermediate and advanced lab courses which are required courses for physics majors (each 6 hours per week) Enrollment: Spring 2014: 12, Summer 2014: not offered, Fall 2014: 22 Student Technology Fee Budget Template for 2014‐2015 Project Funding Proposal
Project Title:
New computers for teaching labs in the Richards Building
Organization or College:
Arts & Sciences
Department or Unit:
Physics Department
Project Period
Start Date:
4/1/2015
End Date:
6/1/2015
I. Senior/Key Personnel
List senior and / or key personnel whose compensation will be funded through project non‐recurring funds
Requested First Name
Middle Name
Last Name
Project Role
Salary
Fringe Benefits
A.
B.
C.
D.
Total Funds Requested for Senior/Key Personnel
Funds Requested
$ ‐
II. Student & Other Personnel
Requested Salary
Fringe Benefits
FTE
Funds Requested
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students
Other Personnel
Total Funds Requested for Students & Other Personnel
$ ‐
Total Salaries, Wages & Benefits
$ ‐
III. Equipment
List items and dollar amounts for each item, including software, (or multiple items of the same type with a total cost of) over $2,000 ‐ add lines as needed
Item Description
A. Dell OptiPlex 9020 MiniTower (i7 3.60GHz, 8GB Ram; 500GB HD), B. Dell 22 Monitor ‐ E2214H with 3 Year Warranty
Total for items over $2,000
Materials & Supplies
Consultant Services
Equipment or Facility Rental/Use Fees
Additional Project Costs (describe in budget justification)
Total for Others Costs
Total Project Cost
$854.84
$149.41
Funds Requested
$62,403.32
$10,906.93
73 $1,004.25
$73,310.25
73
73
$ ‐
$ 73,310.25