UCL - Selected Topics in Chemistry, Physics and Materials Science

[MAPR2017]

[30h + 30h] 5 credits

This course is taught in the 1st & 2d semester.

Teacher(s): Patrick Bertrand, Alain Jonas

Language: French

Level: Second

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

At the end of this course, the students are supposed:
1. to be able to understand the most part of a scientific conference on a current topic in Chemistry, Physics or Materials science;
2. to write a condensed report on such a conference, and to discuss its content and main points.

Main themes

The course aims to develop the capacity of the students to follow actively conferences of a high level, to draw their attention to recent developments in Chemistry, Physics or Materials science, and to complete their knowledge of these fields by presenting topics not included in the main courses of their master degree.

Content and teaching methods

The seminar content varies from year to year depending on current trends and on invited speakers, who belong to industry, university or government research centres. A list of conferences will be published and updated regularly by the teacher. The students can also select conferences outside the proposed list, in which case they first need to obtain the official agreement of the teacher. Only conferences dealing with topics in Physics, Chemistry or Materials Science will be accepted.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

This course must be spread over the two years of the master degree.
The conferences can be attended during the two semesters of each year.
Assessment:
Students will participate at least to 10 conferences a year, and they will have to provide reports for 10 conferences every year (2 pages max.). A folder containing the 10 reports will be handed to the teacher at the latest the day before the opening day of the exam session. The reports will be evaluated based on their form and content. The oral exam will consist of a discussion on one of the reports, randomly selected by the teacher; students are expected to be able to provide detailed explanations on the corresponding conference, beyond the data reported in their 2 pages report.
The students have to inform the teacher rapidly in case they would feel difficulties to attend the 10 required seminars, due to a long stay abroad (e.g., for their final study thesis); the possibility to replace the missing seminars by a bibliographic research work will then be examined by the teacher.
The students will be allowed to present the oral part of the exam only if the report has be transmitted in due time and according to the recommendations detailed above.