Participation in undergraduate research projects at thebeginning or honors level has become increasingly important at liberal arts institutions. To significantly increase the number of students who participate in project activities, the physics department at Illinois Wesleyan University is upgrading the type and quality of experiments offered in the junior level Experimental Physics course. Thus, familiarity with advanced equipment and techniques is allowing a natural progression into senior research projects in which much of the same instrument- ation is used in more advanced ways.While the department offers course work in all the usual areas of physics, faculty now have clearly identified five weak areas in the experimental offerings -- those that can lead to senior research. These areas, together with the equipment remedies made possible by this grant, are: 1) Modern Optics: the completion of a laser laboratory; 2) Low Temperature Physics (10-300 k): a general purpose gas refrigerator type cryostat; 3) Nuclear Physics: a high resolution gamma spectroscopy system 4) Solid State Physics: a small, accurate, general purpose magnet for Hall Effect and related measurements; 5) Observational Astronomy: an astronomical photometer system to upgrade the department's unreliable, 21 year old system.NSF grant funds are being matched by funds from non-federal sources.
