In her advanced laboratory course for physics majors, Deborah Fygenson guides students through landmark experiments from the twentieth century. One goal is to make difficult concepts from optics and quantum mechanics tangible for the students. "But the class is more than a lot of fancy demos that can’t be fit into a lecture hour," she said. "It is a hands-on introduction to the experimental process."

Fygenson is excited about getting students involved in research. "The university is a place for intellectual risk-taking and adventure," she says. She wants students to experience the uncomfortable thrill of realizing that some questions don’t have easy answers, even if they have the tools to figure them out. "The taste of discovery can be addicting. You can help place students at the limits of knowledge and give them a chance to learn by doing. It is a kind of learning they can’t get anywhere else."

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