The St. Mary’s Project (SMP) is a year-long, 8-credit, capstone of study at St. Mary’s.
SMPs are an independently designed and executed course of study. Working in close conjunction with one or more professors, in or outside of the department, students have the opportunity to explore, in depth, a question or idea that entrances and intrigues them.
An SMP may take the form of a research paper or a creative expression of the arts. It may include collaborative work and build upon components of internships, study-abroad programs, and other experimental formats, as well as traditional research skills.
Physics SMPs
Every physics major must complete a St. Mary’s Project. This project may be in physics or in another major discipline or a study area. The guidelines established in the selected area apply. The project must be proposed to a mentor and to the chair of the Department of Physics at least three weeks before the last day of classes of the second semester of the student’s junior year, and it must be approved by the mentor and the department chair.
Highlighted SMPs
Rebecca Prasher ’12
“17th Century Naval Architecture and Hull Hydrostatics” (mentors: Josh Grossman and Rick Loheed)
Rebecca received the Geneva Boone Award for Outstanding St. Mary’s Project. Read more about her research in this article in the Mulberry Tree. Additionally, she worked with physics department faculty and Dr. Frank Narducci (Naval Air Systems Command) on developing a new design of magneto-optical trap for sensor applications.
Christine DiMenna ’12
“Search for Fourth Generation Massive Leptons in Various Models with One or Two Extra Dimensions” (with Elliot Russell; mentor: Erin De Pree)
Adam Hammett ’12
“Bichromatic Cooling of an Atomic Beam” (mentor: Josh Grossman)