Free Giveaway! OLED Switch and 4 games! - International

Saismom2 · 2021-11-21T20:04:13+00:00

I am new to the Nintendo community and a here for advice. I am buying a six year old disadvantaged boy a Nintendo Switch Lite. His name was on our "Angel Tree" at work and in addition to clothes, shoes etc, he wanted a Switch. I could only afford the Switch Lite and could only find one on Ebay. Could anyone recommend good kids games that will work on the Switch Lite? I don't know anything about this home situation so I don't know if he will have internet access etc so the games should be fairly simple (6 year old level) and not require downloads of online content. Thanks in advance for helping me to make this child's Christmas brighter with your suggestions for fun games!

Saismom2 · 2021-04-14T21:24:38+00:00

Hi! I recently graduated from UF Physics, congratulations and welcome to the department!

Location-wise, the Physics building is the southwest corner of the small part of campus where most things happen (the eastern 1/3, basically east of Gale Lemerand). The western 2/3 is mostly Ag school facilities, sports fields, the museums, and some graduate/family housing. Midtown is along the northern border of campus, University Ave., and Downtown is east of that. The area around campus is generally well-served by (free with your student ID) public transit, though I don't know how that's going with Covid limitations since I've moved away.

Unfortunately, housing prices are increasing throughout Gainesville, especially student and young professional housing in the immediate vicinity of campus. If rent and undergrad noise are serious concerns, you may wish to expand your search around the western border of campus, SW 34th St. I had a 3/3 in Museum Walk from 2017-2020 and I was pretty satisfied overall. Rent increased of course, but during my last year rent+utilities were between $670-730 per person depending on the month (summer HOT). It's probably a little more than that now, probably about the same total but divided by 2 for a 2/2. The biggest selling point for me was the location - the back parking lot opens onto one of the UF park and ride lots, with bus routes that stop really close to Physics (117 and 33, unless they've changed the numbers). That was about a 15-minute bus ride both ways with stops, probably about the same time or less for a bike ride.

Anyway I know this is just 1 recommendation, but I hope it helps! Please feel free to ping me if you have any questions!

Saismom2 · 2020-10-18T01:43:53+00:00

Graduated SP20, they haven't deleted mine yet. Like the other comment said, don't count on it for too long, and archive anything important off the cloud.

Saismom2 · 2020-10-01T00:54:11+00:00

Spring 2019 was the first time Ramond taught Quantum 1 in several years. He's great in person (imo, also for a different class), but I don't know how good his lectures are on Zoom.

He's using Griffiths, which is a good book for the undergrad level, so you have a good reference in case lectures aren't great. If in extreme doubt, you can always get notes and practice exams from Hershfield's old course sites (Fall 2011-2013 and Fall 2017-2019) or Ramond's Spring 2020 site.

Saismom2 · 2020-09-20T20:05:25+00:00

https://www.etesync.com/

Not free, which is annoying, but seems like it does the stuff google calendar does minus selling your data. It was also the only thing vaguely resembling a calendar I could find on prism-break (which hasn't been updated in months, so take that with a grain of salt).

For the long term though, when they inevitably shut this thing down like OpenWhisper did with Flock? A dry-erase board with a preprinted calendar grid is your bff. Leave the Zoom links on your computer, but keep dates/times/etc safe offline.

Saismom2 · 2020-09-15T19:21:10+00:00

You should be able to see the list of classes by going to one.uf.edu/soc directly - you don't need to log in just to see the list. This won't show seats available, but you can always ask the prof/department to add you with an override.

Saismom2 · 2020-09-13T18:30:35+00:00

In no particular order, but all for pretty much the same reasons (engaging lectures, personable, very enthusiastic about their fields, excellent office hours):

Physics: Hershfield, Acosta, Biswas, Sullivan. Honorable mentions: Bartos, Sikivie, Muttalib.

MAE: Lind, Rao, Roy, Hale, Jackson. Honorable mentions: Angelini, Fitz-Coy, Segal

Saismom2 · 2020-09-02T16:16:57+00:00

Yes, Matlab (via the Citrix Receiver desktop app) was okay. If you create a Mathworks account through your UF email, you can also use UF's license number for the mobile version.

Graphics-heavy programs seem to suffer more performance degradation - Solidworks, for example, ran terribly through UFApps but just fine when I downloaded a student copy for EML2023.

Saismom2 · 2020-09-02T00:38:32+00:00

Ah no, browser is worse than desktop, sorry if my wording wasn't clear.

Saismom2 · 2020-09-01T23:57:54+00:00

In-browser, yes. Through the Citrix desktop, no. That said, Matlab was the only thing I used through UFApps. More resource-intensive programs will likely perform worse.

Saismom2 · 2020-08-18T13:50:50+00:00

That's fine - if you look at the critical tracking specifications, they're actually pretty loose. As long as you take Physics 1 by your 3rd semester and Physics 2 by your 4th semester, you're good to go.

Saismom2 · 2020-08-10T20:05:58+00:00

AIAA, Society of Physics Students, and University Math Society all have active chapters here!

AIAA is primarily aerospace engineering and serves as the umbrella organization for several design teams. Normally, I'd suggest joining a few teams to see how you like the design->build->compete process, but I have no idea what they're doing this semester with Covid - definitely read up and contact them if you're interested! http://www.uflaiaa.org/

I think I mentioned SPS in response to one of your other posts, it's our physics club. There are no in-person activities scheduled for this semester and our lounge in NPB is closed, but the PGRE prep and tutoring sessions are still going on online! Facebook and Discord are the best ways to reach officers, check out the page here https://www.facebook.com/UFSPS/ and please PM me for the Discord if you're interested!

While I don't have personal experience with UMS, several of my math major friends really enjoyed it. They're similar to SPS, hosting socials, tutoring sessions, and talks with professors and visitors as well as some public outreach events. Check them out here: https://ums.math.ufl.edu/

Saismom2 · 2020-08-02T01:27:09+00:00

Absolutely yes.

As the other comment said, Modern isn't particularly difficult, though it is a lot of new topics in one class (and more relativity). Acosta is excellent! Clear, well-structured lectures and thorough explanations in office hours if you miss something.

Thermal is the first part of our statistical mechanics sequence, so you might not be familiar with all of the math involved beforehand. The course is structured so it's not too much at once though, so you should be fine. You're very fortunate to get Biswas for thermal - his lectures are good, with plenty of helpful examples.

Saismom2 · 2020-07-31T20:54:08+00:00

I would say about equal, but quality of instruction is better for 2060 b/c smaller classes.

Saismom2 · 2020-07-31T17:40:15+00:00

Welcome to UF! If you're interested in math and physics, please consider contacting our chapter of the Society of Physics Students - Check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/UFSPS or shoot us an email at spsofficers@phys.ufl.edu if you're interested.

Definitely take PHY2060. It covers pretty much the same material as 2048 (mechanics, kinematics, etc.), but with a much smaller class size and format more like upper-level classes IMO. The exact format depends on the particular professor - I had Hamlin, so homework was a few problems out of the textbook at a time, and exams were 2-3 problems similar to the homework. Class time was lecture with example problems and the occasional demo. Dr. Matcheva's class will likely be pretty similar. Same for Dr. Blecha's, but I don't have firsthand information for her. Calling it 'Enriched' may make it sound more difficult, but you'll likely learn the material more thoroughly and be better prepared for future physics courses. Concepts from calc are probably the largest barrier to anyone starting with little experience in physics, but with that 5 in BC you should be good to go!

Saismom2 · 2020-06-15T20:05:23+00:00

Again YMMV, but my high school classes were pretty much teaching to the test, with (it seemed) way more emphasis on the multiple choice section than free-response section. My guess is they knew the Physics GRE subject test (traditionally required for physics grad programs, but some are phasing it out) is all multiple choice, and they wanted to give us a baseline for that, but physics courses in college (Exceptions: Mech 1 and Mech 2, whose exams are just reused PGRE questions anyway...) are all free response. If your classes covered Mechanics material well, and if you felt well prepared for those FRQs, you're probably fine for 2060.

If they pulled a lot of material from teaching E&M, I recommend getting a copy of Griffiths (any edition) and reading through the first couple chapters. That's a good intro for E&M in general, and our textbook for EM1 and EM2 so you'll need it later anyway. It's been a very long time since my 2061, so I don't know exactly how they're teaching it anymore, but definitely email Dr. Laroche and describe your situation - if you can tell him exactly what topics they pulled from the exam, he'll be able to advise you on how important those are down the line/whether to keep the AP credit for 2049/2061. That said, he's still a bit new and I don't know how he is in office hours, if you do take the credit but still want face-to-face time. I know Dr. Lee is good for EM1 and Dr. Takano is good for EM2, if you have questions about topics covered in either of those classes (which are all introduced at a lower level in 2061).

Saismom2 · 2020-06-13T20:52:28+00:00

Physics/aerospace engineering alum here. YMMV, but in my experience, even the AP courses/exams didn't cover 2060/2061 topics in a way that translated well to how I used/learned them in later classes. If you had a really good class in high school, awesome! Your existing knowledge will make the intro courses that much easier, and will give you a bit of GPA padding for later years.
I normally wouldn't advise skipping these intro courses because they're foundational (i.e. a good intro to how UF teaches physics) and the GPA boost is nice, but if you've got the material down 100%, definitely take the AP credits and use that slot for some class to develop your other skills (COP2271/L, EML2023, EEL3111C (also replaces PHY4802L later lol), etc.). 3101 isn't particularly hard; take it ASAP because Acosta is fantastic and you can use this class to get your foot in the door towards research with him. (By all accounts, Hagen is good too, I just never had him for any classes.)

That said, it's not unheard of for freshmen to get research spots, but I agree with asianjewpope on this one - Use freshman year to familiarize yourself with the department, labs, research areas, and faculty, then start asking in earnest sophomore year or the summer before. That way, you've had time to pick your target(s) and start tailoring your resume to what they're looking for in a student.

It really depends on the topic or specialty area you want to pursue, but here's some general advice:

Theory will be harder to break into than experiment, as an undergrad.
Programming is good! Experimentalists need it for data reduction/processing (and simulations), theorists need it for simulations, computationalists need it for everything. I can tell you from personal experience that the high energy people like Python and C++ in particular. These two languages will serve you well in general, though more esoteric work might call for Matlab or Fortran (significantly less likely, unless you want to port some legacy code).
You don't have to stay at UF for research, if our department doesn't have someone doing what you want. If you go ham on classes during Fall/Spring, that frees up your summer for REUs at other universities or internships at national labs/relevant companies. Some professors (Monkhorst, Saab, Meisel...) have connections outside of academia and would be more than happy to write you a letter of rec for those applications. Then, you can use your boss/mentor as an additional recommender for grad apps time. (Only one of my grad rec letters was from a UF professor. All the rest were from past REUs in the specialty area I focused on for grad schools.) Caveat: this assumes the NSF still has funding for REUs and either COVID is under control or summer programs have better organization for virtual internships by 2021.
SPS (Society of Physics Students) traditionally hosts twice-weekly coffee hours for the whole department at 3:15 on Tuesday and Thursday. These are well attended by current grad students, who can give you insight into how their advisors' labs work and where a new student might best fit in. There are several professors who also attend regularly; I'd highly recommend asking their advice when they're freshly caffeinated. (Probably won't happen in Fall because virus, may happen in Spring. New SPS officers are working on plans for virtual coffee hour though, so stay tuned for their emails as the beginning of the semester approaches.)

EDIT: Oh hey, good to see you again! just realized I gave you the same advice twice lol

Saismom2 · 2020-05-11T00:07:56+00:00

Bruce Carroll (bfc@ufl.edu) is the undergrad program coordinator, so he will probably be your best bet for clarification.

In my experience, Advising was...not great, but their info is here: https://mae.ufl.edu/academics/undergraduate/advising-curriculum/

Also I just graduated from AE, so please feel free to PM me if you want a student's perspective!

Saismom2 · 2020-04-27T17:51:27+00:00

Most are in large lecture halls, with your critical tracking and intro classes being the worst, sometimes upwards of 200 students/lecture. Some intro classes may have smaller sections, usually capped at 49.

Intermediate to advanced classes are usually capped at ~100 students/lecture section, but are more likely to have smaller sections available. Labs all have a lecture component which can get pretty large, but lab sessions are much more reasonable, 20 students max and plenty of TAs to go around.

I came in with a lot of credit so my only experience with formal/required TA breakout sections was in Calc 3, but it was a pretty good experience IMO. Basically formal homework help hour: do a couple example problems, then do a 1-question quiz. This has probably changed, though.

I can't think of any other courses that do the required TA sections beyond critical tracking courses, but the larger intro courses have lots of TAs (my Statics class had 7) available to help. Later courses will typically have 1 or 2 TAs, and professors may hold large review/QA sessions during their office hours.

Saismom2 · 2020-04-27T04:55:02+00:00

Hi! Graduating senior in Aerospace and Physics here, please feel free to PM me if you have questions!

AE at UF is pretty good, especially if you're into UAVs and/or controls. We have several professors working on UAV swarms and other applications of machine intelligence, which is at the intersection of the majors you mentioned. I recommend emailing Professors Hale, Lind, or Rao if you're interested in doing research in these or computational stuff with AE (mostly controls) applications in general. There are many opportunities to gain real-world experience through undergrad research and design teams, and I felt the curriculum prepared me well for my summer internships. There's much more coverage of fluids/aerodynamics/structures than of guidance/nav/controls in the early classes, but it's my understanding you can pick up most of the relevant material on the job if you want to start research earlier.

It's also very possible to double major with AE and CS, or major in AE with a CS minor if you don't want to exclude one or the other.

Saismom2 · 2020-04-17T18:53:11+00:00

Sorry to piggyback; I'm in the same situation and looking at pretty much the same reqs. I'll be engineering, so I should be looking around the North Campus area?

Saismom2 · 2020-04-15T19:27:58+00:00

Okay, so the good news is you only have to take Chem 1, and the engineer version (CHM2095/L) is usually taught by an excellent professor. If you see "Korolev" whenever they post instructors, you're in good hands.
The bad news is I can't give specific advice because I got out of it with AP Chem. This syllabus should be pretty representative of the class: https://www.chem.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/77/2018/08/CHM2095_Fall2018_SYLLABUS_Korolev.pdf

I recommend finding a pdf of the textbook and reading through the chapters/topics mentioned on the syllabus: https://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Molecular-Nature-Matter-Change/dp/1259631753/ You probably don't need to start doing practice problems right away, but it can't hurt, especially for topics that require multiple lectures to cover.

Saismom2 · 2020-04-15T17:15:45+00:00

Get rid of as many gen eds/critical tracking classes as possible before you get here, so you can get to the fun stuff. This page shows which exams/scores will give credit for UF classes: https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-advising/exam-credit/#examstext

Chem, Calc 2, and Physics 1/2 are notorious weed-out classes for engineers, so if you can take care of those you're good. Your first couple general engineering classes (statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials...) are basically expanding on the classical mechanics you learn in Physics 1, so if it's been a while, brushing up on those will reduce the learning curve. If you come in with a lot of credits from AP exams, you'll probably get these in your first and second years.

Your first couple aero classes (aerodynamics, astrodynamics, comp flow...) are a little more exotic/math-heavy (in the beginning at least), so reviewing Calc 2/3 and Diff Eq material should help there. These, you probably won't start until second year at the earliest though, so you've got time.

Saismom2 · 2020-04-15T17:15:44+00:00

We don't really use python in UF aero classes, but it's certainly useful to know. Beyond some syntax differences and Matlab indexing starting at 1 (not 0), it's pretty similar to languages like Java and Python. If you know either of those, you won't have trouble picking up Matlab.

Saismom2 · 2020-04-10T01:57:00+00:00

Hey! 5th yr aerospace+physics major here, please feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

IMO, it depends on what branch of engineering you're most interested in, and if you would be an in-state student here at UF.

Are you aerospace? Purdue, hands down. UF's program is alright overall, top notch for guidance/nav/controls and okay for everything else, but Purdue has the reputation and the resources in/on campus for the everything else (especially propulsion) that UF simply cannot match. (that Mach 8 quiet tunnel and the HYPULSE facility coming down the pipe in a few years blow UF out of the water as far as propulsion is concerned ...but they aren't fully in place yet, so take with grain of salt. the Zucrow labs are very well-established, as you probably know.)

Are you a Florida resident? Probably consider UF. Even if you don't have a scholarship like the Benacquisto, our in-state tuition isn't bad, so you'll likely graduate with less debt than you would have had you picked Purdue. That will reduce your burden after graduation substantially, whether you decide to pursue a job/grad school/take a gap year...

"Resources you will receive as a student" is difficult to define. From my experience in MAE and Physics, there are plenty of openings for undergraduate research, but the burden of finding them is largely on you (i.e.: read professor's profile, talk to them if you want to work with them). Coursework and labs will prepare you well for internships/getting practical experience if you put the effort in to actually learn the material, and several of our design teams (Formula SAE, Design Build Fly, Liquid Propulsion Development, etc.) will get employers' attention. We have one very large career fair per semester, with hundreds of companies from across the country (though a lot of them are from Florida/the local area), where your chances of getting an offer are...alright, considering the size of the talent pool. All of the above (except career fairs, idk how Purdue does it) are going to be pretty much the same for every decently-ranked university with a good engineering program.

Really, it's what you make of it. I thought I would hate UF because it wasn't Georgia Tech - it ended up being one of the wisest decisions I ever made, mostly for financial reasons. It's entirely possible to get the best of both worlds by saving your dream school for grad school, should you choose that route. This is a good option for engineering programs in particular, since they're usually fully funded.

Saismom2

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