thesis FAQ

Q) Do I need good marks to get a thesis from you?

A) No. You need to be motivated and to like what you do.

Q) I need to obtain the degree very soon for a series of very personal and secret reasons. Is this possible?

A) Everything is possible. At the price of an increased effort and with a certain amount of luck, the thesis time can be sensibly shortened. Of course, no guarantee is given.

Q) Are the projects only for physics students?

A) No. The projects are interdisciplinary. They can combine optics, soft matter, colloidal science, biophysics, material science, statistical mechanics, fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer theory. If you are a student of other disciplines such as for example Engineering, Chemistry or Biotechnology we might find a suitable arrangement for you.

Q) What will I learn during my thesis?

A) During a project the student is expected to acquire a set of skills in different fields. You will join a group of young and dynamic people who will help you during your project. You will learn how to behave in a biochemistry lab, how to prepare clean samples without external contamination, how to measure precisely small quantities of liquids and many other things. You will learn how a microscope works and what are the many knobs and buttons that decorate it. You will get familiar with digital cameras, how they store data in a file, what are the different formats to save data in a scientifically significant manner. You will learn to write scientific computer programs to analyze your data. Probably for the first time in your life, you will apply Fourier transforms to some real data and you will be initiated to the art of image processing. You will learn what a digital image is and how to modify it at your will with free software packages as ImageJ as well as with commercial software as Labview or Matlab. You will improve your knowledge of optics, optical instruments and optical methods. You will develop your skills in developing simple models to describe your experiments. And many other things that depend on the project chosen and on your starting skills.

Q) I want to pursue an academic career. Will my thesis give me good opportunities for a PhD?

A) Yes. All the proposed projects are tailored to maximize the chances of publication in case of success. In addition, our lab is very well connected internationally with many ongoing collaborations, which increases the chances of finding a good position abroad.

Q) I do not want to stay at the University? Will my thesis help me to find a job in the industry?

A) Yes. Experimental theses offer very good possibilities of learning something useful. During the past few years many students who have profitably learned to build/use instruments and commercial packages such as Labview have found very easily a good job in a company. There is no reason why this should not work out for you.