Upcoming Courses

PHY 4905 Special Topics: The Physics of Tornadoes

The United States, by far, has more tornadoes than any other country, with more than 1,000 each year.  Understanding the physics of how tornadoes form, evolve, and die requires an understanding of adiabatic heating and cooling, capping inversions and potential energy, rear flank downdrafts and dry slots on the hook echo Doppler radar signature of a tornado, mesocyclones and wall clouds, sky color in tornadic weather, moisture transport in the atmosphere, wind shear, updrafts and downdrafts.  I will offer this special topics class if several students are interested.  You must have completed PHY 3080 Physical Oceanography before taking this course.  (The math we discuss will not be excessive, however.)  Part of this course will involve certification as a trained weather spotter for the National Weather Service.  If you are interested in this course being offered, please let me know.

Fall 2025

PHY 1310 Physics in Medicine - TR 1:00 - 2:47pm, 187 MSC

Algebra-based review of the entire year of introductory physics, MCAT Physics prep is a major part of this General Education approved physics course.  Exams are multiple choice, with 59 questions (stand-alone and as passages) in 95 minutes. Fast calculations, estimation, and memorization techniques are stressed.  Lab activites in radiation biology and cardiac electrophysiology. Invited speakers demonstrate applications of physics in the medical field. The class is very informal, with time for students to talk about career prep, other course work, medical interests, etc.

Important note for Premeds and Preprofessional Students:  PHY 1310 cannot be used in place of an intro physics course if your degree program at Oakland University requires a physics course.  You must take the designated physics courses (e.g. PHY 1510-1520 or PHY 1010-1020).  However, if your program does NOT require a specific intro physics course, you may have some flexibility:  Consider checking with your medical school of choice (MD or DO program) to see if they will allow you to substitute PHY 1310 for one of your intro physics courses for admission.  Some programs will allow this, while others will not.  Physician Assistant programs are generally more strict about requirements, and so they are very unlikely to allow this.  It also seems unlikely that optometry programs would allow the substitution, for obvious reasons.  Dental programs, like medical programs, may allow this for specific schools so, again, you would need to check on a case by case basis.

PHY 3080 Physical Oceanography - MWF 1:20 - 2:27pm, 113 Hannah Hall, Flex offering lectures in person or online (exams and labs must be attended in person)

We will use minimal calculus, so a pre-calculus course should be sufficient preparation.  Please contact me for any necessary registration overrides. The course focuses on seafloor geology, ocean currents and the marine environment, glaciers, meteorology and cloud formation, and climate science.   We will also discuss the physics of weather, including severe storms and tornadoes.  The course can be taken as a stand-alone course, and it also counts towards the major and minor in Physics, the minor in Geology, has been approved as an elective for the Environmental Science program, and with a petition of exception can count towards the minor in Sustainability Engineering.

Winter 2026

HC 2080 Life After the Diagnosis, TR 10:00 - 11:47am, 111 South Foundation Hall

This Honors Class science course focuses on the physics and science of heart arrhythmia and cancer.  Cancer science will be the majority of what we discuss.  The role of the caregiver and hospice will also be emphasized. Premeds will appreciate this course, but because these conditions are so prevalent everyone can benefit from the course. Our text will be Siddhartha Mukherjee's Emperor of All Maladies.

Office:   186-D MSC, 146 Library Drive, Department of Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan

Email:   smpuwal2@oakland.edu