Department Policies

Department Policies Master List

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Code of Conduct

All members of the Physics department are obligated to abide by the department code of conduct. Key portions read "we share a responsibility to act ethically and professionally. We strive to conduct ourselves in a professional manner that is welcoming to all and free from any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. We recognize our individual and collective obligations to be truthful and to treat each other with respect. We strive to create a collegial, considerate, inclusive, and professional environment in our classrooms, research labs, offices, and online." Refer to above link for the complete statement and relevant resources.

Safety

The Physics department strives to maintain a safe, healthful and efficient environment for all persons, including faculty, staff employees, students, and visitors to the department. The department adheres to applicable state and university safety regulations, including those pertaining to fire prevention and hazardous materials. Safety plans are overseen by the department Safety committee; see the safety pages for specific information. All new employees must complete the new employee safety orientation, with assistance from their supervisor. Those working in research laboratories must complete applicable lab-specific safety training. UW environmental health and safety (EH&S) conducts periodic laboratory inspections; any findings must be promptly resolved by laboratory PIs.

Email Lists

The various phys-xxx@phys.washington.edu email lists may be used by Physics faculty, staff and students only for sending information of broad interest and importance regarding administration, research, service, instruction, recognition or other university matters. These lists are moderated and submissions deemed inappropriate or unwarranted will be rejected.

Copiers & Printers

Physics copiers and printers may be used by Physics faculty, staff and students for purposes of administration, research, service and instruction. Other uses are prohibited.

Food & Drink

Alcohol service or consumption is not permitted except for special occasions with an approved alcohol service request. Environmental Health & Safety prohibits food and drink in research labs; for lunch breaks within PAB use the basement lunch room B094, the hbar C108 (and its outside tables), or other lounge or discussion areas in the building. Many UW budgets are not approved for food and/or alcohol purchases, or have specific restrictions. See this guide for conditions on food purchases.

Technical Services

Job scheduling The Shop Manager has sole responsibility for the scheduling of jobs, and determining when the drawings and instructions provided are sufficient for the job to be scheduled. Advance notice of jobs to be submitted is always appreciated, but it is not possible to reserve a place in the queue. See the job submission and queueing policy page for specific information.

Hourly rate The Technical Services Cost Center charges the same rate to all users. The shop rate is calculated each year by making a supportable estimate of the number of hours to be sold and dividing this figure into an estimate of operating costs. Operating costs include salaries, benefits, general services such as telephones, routine machine maintenance, minor repairs and expendable supplies. The operating cost also includes a usage fee on the inventoried equipment; this fee is transferred into the equipment reserve to purchase new or replacement equipment and fund major repairs.

Departent support The Department of Physics pays the full cost of all instructional jobs and pays a fraction of the cost of qualifying research jobs submitted to Technical Services and performed on behalf of Physics users. A research-related job qualifies for, but is not guaranteed, Physics department support if it is:

• submitted by Physics regular, research or emeritus faculty, with charges to be paid from a Physics-administered budget;

• submitted by a Physics grad student and directly related to his/her thesis research, regardless of the faculty supervisor's affiliation or funding source and provided that the job is specific to the student's thesis as opposed to being part of the project as a whole;

• submitted by a Physics grad student with an adjunct faculty supervisor in another department, not directly related to the student's thesis, provided charges are to be paid from a Physics administered budget or sub-budget; or

• submitted by non-Physics faculty, staff or student, for collaborative research supported by a Physics administered grant or subcontract.

Note that except for a graduate student's thesis-related work, jobs do not qualify for department support unless work is paid for by a Physics-administered grant which returns indirect cost to the department and whose grant propsoal was approved by the department chair or administrator. All such grants should be accompanied by an estimate of the required amount of shop time so that the Technical Services Shop Manager can estimate the demand for shop time and the funds required. Questions about the support policy should be directed to the department administrator.

Keys

Keys to rooms within the Physics/Astronomy Building (PAB), as well as a building key needed to enter PAB after hours, may be requested using the online key request procedure, which contains specific instructions as well as information about key renewal and return. To receive a laboratory key, one must have completed the necessary online safety training with the lab supervisor. A $15 deposit is required for each office or lab key, and $20 for building or master keys.

Room Reservations

Physics conference and seminar rooms are for use by department faculty, staff, students and visitors, and may be reserved for conducting department or university business. When not in use by Physics department members, groups outside of Physics may reserve these rooms to conduct university business. All reservation requests must be approved by Physics main office staff before they are finalized; new requests made via the reservation request form start the process. If necessary, judgments about allowable use will be made by the department administrator or chair.

All users must treat these spaces and furniture therein with respect. Any damage should be reported to the Physics front office immediately. Users of C520 must refrain from using any supplies in the C520 kitchenette which they do not provide, unless specifically designated as sharable. All leftover food, drinks, and other material which has been brought in must be removed from conference rooms, and the C520 kitchenette, immediately after an event, with these rooms returned to their initial state. This includes wiping down counters and tables, disposing of any leftover supplies or materials, and cleaning up spills on the floor. Failure to clean up appropriately will jeprodize future reservation privileges.

Purchasing

The Physics Department adheres to UW Procurement Services policies and recommended procedures. The most common methods for purchasing are:

• eProcurement or Ariba: This is the preferred method for purchasing.

• ProCard: The second choice for research groups which purchase a large number of items. One person in the group should be designated to obtain a ProCard and make purchases. The third choice is to have the Fiscal Specialist purchase items on their ProCard.

• Purchase orders: For equipment and large purchases over $3,500; and items not available in eProcurement, cannot be purchased with a ProCard, require a sole source justification, require a competitive bidding process, or require a signed contract.

See these frequently asked questions and further information about ProCard transactions. Complete information on how to buy supplies, services and equipment can be found at https://finance.uw.edu/ps/how-to-buy.

Equipment Inventory

The Physics Department adheres to the UW Equipment Inventory Office policies and procedures. All items of equipment greater in value than $5,000 must be tagged with a white bar code tag (in a visible, central part of the item) within 24 hours of receipt. Items which will remain boxed for some time before use should be opened and inspected, tagged, and the necessary identifying information recorded within 24 hours of receipt. For additional information regarding unique tagging situations, updating tag numbers, fabricated equipment, insurance, and disposal, see this document.

Travel

The Physics Department adheres to UW Travel Office policies and procedures. For UW employees and students, reimbursable expenses include state contract or cheaper coach airfare between Seattle and the destination. For visitors, reimbursable expenses include coach airfare from their place of business to/from Seattle. For UW employees, students, and visitors, reimbursable expenses also include lodging, per diem (i.e., food) up to allowable limits, and transportation to/from airport. To arrange reimbursement, fill out the employee travel reimbursement request form or visitor travel reimbursement form, as appropriate.

Foreign visitors must provide proof of legal US entry in the form of their stamped passport and I-94 form; without this, we cannot reimburse. For holders of a J-1 visa, we need a copy of the DS2019 and a permission letter from their sponsoring institution authorizing money to be released to the visitor. For holders of an F-1 visa, we need an I-20 form.

When purchasing airfare using any federal funding source, the Fly America Act requires that US air carriers (or a code-share flight with flight designation indicating a US airline) must be used, with some exceptions covered by Open Skies agreements. The department is not responsible for any unallowable airfare charges for travel on federal funding. Open Skies agreements with Japan, Switzerland, Australia, and the E.U. exapnd allowable carriers to these destinations to include carriers from those respective countries. The E.U. agreement includes Iceland and Norway, and allows E.U. carriers to serve any destination if the trip stops in the E.U., Iceland, or Norway. For more information, see the useful (but not authorative) Wikipedia Fly America page. If you have concerns about a particular situation, please consult with the Grants Manager on the specifics of the case.

Airfare for UW employees, students or visitors may be purchased using a UW VISA Travel Card, Central Travel Account (CTA) with the assistance of the department travel coordinator, or using personal funds. Airfare can be purchased from a state contract travel agency, directly with the airline, or from online travel providers such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, etc. Information on state contract airfares and travel agencies is available at https://finance.uw.edu/travel/airfare.

Overtime

The Physics Department adheres to UW policies regarding overtime as found on the Compensation website. Overtime eligible employees must obtain advance supervisory approval to work more than their regular work schedule, and must be paid or receive comp time for all hours worked, regardless of whether overtime has been approved or not. However, employees who work unauthorized overtime hours may be subject to corrective action. Employees may use compensatory time for overtime worked with prior approval from their supervisor. Accumulated compensatory time must be used before annual leave use is approved.

Timesheets are required for all overtime eligible positions. FLSA regulations require complete records showing total hours worked each day and a total for the workweek for all overtime eligible employees, whether the employee works overtime or not. The Department requires both the employee and supervisor signature on all weekly timesheets. Weekly timesheets must be submitted to the Payroll Coordinator on a timely basis to keep accurate work/leave records and for reconciling payroll records.

Lab Space & Storage

Labs All spaces will have a designated individual responsible for the labeling, documentation, placement and disposal of all materials within that space. This applies even to "shared" lab space. The designated individual is responsible for all materials in the space, regardless of original source. Wherever possible, a secondary responsible individual with the requisite knowledge and ability to deal with issues in the absence of the primary responsible individual should also be identified. Room signage must clearly indicate primary and secondary responsible individuals.

Hallways No indefinite term storage of anything in hallways. Limited term (<2 week) placement of items in hallways during move in/out is permissible provided Jason Alferness is notified in advance, all items are clearly marked to identify the responsible individual, and items are removed from hallways as soon as possible.

Lab alleys Only to be used for equipment (e.g., vacuum pumps) in active use supporting an associated lab, not to be used for storage of unused equipment or materials. Each side of the lab alley is the responsibility of the corresponding lab. Adequate (3') passageway must be maintained at all times. Electrical panels must have 3' clearance as per code. All electrical equipment & wiring must meet code. Non-flammable, non-toxic gases (N₂, He, etc.) are permitted in limited quantities provided all tanks are properly secured and protected. No other chemicals except unused pump oil. No hazmat whatsoever!

Storage areas Nothing is to be moved into B012 or B026 without prior authorization from the chair, Jason Alferness, or in the case of computing equipment, Wilson Waldrop. Boxes and filing cabinets of papers will be maintained only through established retention schedules. Shipping crates are to be stored only for limited periods (warranty period of equipment) and only when labeled with responsible individual and disposal date.

Loading dock No abandonment of any material in the loading dock. No temporary storage w/o clear labeling of owner, date and notification of Jason Alferness.

Faculty Meetings

Faculty meetings are generally held on the first and third Wednesday of every month during the in-session periods of the academic year. Faculty meetings are subject to Washington state open meeting regulations; meeting notices and agendas are posted in the events calendar. Personnel actions are conducted in a separate personnel meeting not subject to open meeting regulations.

For non-personnel motions at normal in-person faculty meetings, those eligible to vote are all voting faculty of the department (teaching, research and tenure-track faculty), not on leave, who are in attendance plus, for motions where materials are available to review in advance, those voting faculty members with an excused absence who have examined the relevant material. Votes of the latter may be collected electronically by the chair's assistant. For any motion to pass, a majority of those voting must be in favor.

For personnel actions, a quorum of all those eligible to vote must participate in the vote. See the UW voting guidelines for details on voting eligibility. When in-person faculty meetings are not feasible (normally, summer quarter), but matters arise requiring a faculty vote, an electronic faculty meeting using Zoom or equivalent conferencing software may be held.

Physics faculty have chosen, by majority vote, to delegate to the department chair and executive committee the authority to make short term appointments without a full faculty vote.

Merit Review & Retention

Merit reviews and merit-based salary adjustments are governed by applicable portions of the Faculty Code; refer to this summary and the merit review voting matrix. Physics faculty have chosen, by majority vote, to delegate merit recommendations for non-promotable faculty to the department exeutive committee, augmented by additional volunteers from among the full professors.

Retention offers may be made to faculty who have received, or are believed to be in imminent receipt of, an outside offer by another R1 research institution. Retention offers may include salary adjustments or allocation of resources; such offers are recommended by the chair, in consultation with the executive committee, with the proviso that any committment regarding future faculty hires must be brought to the entire faculty of the department for a vote. All retention offers must be approved by the College.

Promotion and Tenure

The department has adopted the College of Arts & Sciences guidelines for promotion and tenure without modification or addition. Faculty in promotable ranks should review these guidelines and discuss progress toward promotion in their annual or biannual discussions with the chair.

Graduate Faculty Appointments

All tenure-track faculty appointments are understood to include appointment to the Graduate Faculty with endorsement to chair supervisory committees. The same is true of research faculty appointments at the level of Research Associate Professor and above.

Adjunct Faculty Appointments

Adjunct faculty appointments may be considered for non-Physics UW faculty who have a demonstrated record and continuing expectation of sustained interaction with Physics department members in areas of research and/or teaching. Such a record will typically take the form of successful supervision of multiple Physics Ph.Ds and/or joint authorship with Physics faculty on multiple research papers.

Every proposed and ongoing adjunct faculty appointment must have an identified advocate among the regular Physics faculty who will be responsible, as appropriate, for chairing the review committee considering the initial appointment, preparing needed documentation, and for recommending subsequent reappointments. This individual should also be prepared to act as faculty mentor for graduate students pursuing thesis work with the adjunct faculty member.

Post-Generals TA Incentive

To encourage advanced Physics graduate students to occasionally serve as TAs, the Department will provide an incentive award of $600/quarter to post-Generals students who apply for, are offered, accept and fulfil a 10hr/wk split TA/RA assignment during the academic year, provided they:

• have sucessfully passed their General exam,

• are within the first 5 years of their graduate studies,

• have not previously received this incentive for more than two quarters.

This policy is an experiment which may be modified or terminated upon annual review.

Undergrad TA/RA Pay

Undergraduate teaching assistants and reader/graders will be paid at the ASE minimum pay rate which, as of early 2021, is $16.69/hour.

Undergraduate research assistants may be paid at different hourly rates. The starting rate of pay may depend on:

• The range and complexity of the job's duties.

• Knowledge and skill requirements necessary to perform the job.

• Salary equity with other student employees in the department.

• Longevity of appointment, merit, and/or recruitment difficulty.

• An appointee's relevant experience and training.

If a student does not have prior experience, none of these factors apply, and there are no equity issues in the lab, then the starting pay rate will be the current ASE union contract minimum. If one or more of these factors do apply, the starting rate of pay may be higher; in such cases the PI must submit a justification to the department chair based on the above considerations.

Student Shop

Any UW student is eligible to use the Student Shop once they have completed the shop's training course. But the student machine shop is a potentially dangerous environment, with risk of serious injury or worse. The following requirements are absolutely mandatory for any person requesting a key to the Physics Student Shop, Room B072, or wishing to work in the Physics Student Shop after normal operating hours:

• Attend and complete the machine shop training course offered at the Physics Machine Shop and present proof of completion.

• Have another person present at all times after hours.

• Wear protective eyewear at all times.

• Have at least one active cell phone available for emergencies.

• Clean up all work areas when finished and make arrangements to return all checked out tools as soon as possible.

• Agree to not lend the key to any unauthorized person.

NOTE: Failure to follow the above conditions may result in the loss of student shop privileges.

Master's Review

The Master's Review is an assessment of adquate mastery of core material and is based on the level of understanding and ability to solve multi-step problems demonstrated in the four Master's Review Exams (MREs) which serve as final exams in Phys 524 (SM), 514 (EM), 518 (QM), and 505 (CM). These exams are written and graded by the course instructors together with the Graduate Exam committee.

Acceptable performance on each MRE is expected, but substantial engagement in research allows sub-par performance on one exam to be waived. This judgment is made by the Master's Review Committee which considers the entire record, both coursework and research progress, and decides if a student's performance warrants continuing toward a PhD. For those students who are judged not to have passed the Master's Review at the end of their first year, the Master's Review Committee may decide that the student needs to retake specific MREs in their second year.

To continue toward a PhD, a student must pass the Master's Review no later than the beginning of their third year. Any student who has not done so is required to leave the PhD program, but may be able to earn a thesis-based terminal Master's degree provided their research warrants this, they have passed all required courses, and they satisfy the Graduate School requirement of a GPA at or above 3.0. Students who do pass the Master's Review may receive a non-thesis Master's degree if they satisfy Graduate School course credit and grade point average requirements, have passed all required courses, and apply for a non-thesis Master's Degree on myUW.

PhD Supervisory Committees

A doctoral supervisory committee guides and assists an individual student working towards their PhD degree, and is charged with evaluating the student's performance throughout the program. The roles and responsibilities of voting members, chair, graduate school representative (GSR) and student are specified in the Graduate School Doctoral Supervisory Committee Roles and Responsibilities document. Regulations concerning the composition of a doctoral supervisory committee are detailed in the Graduate School Memo 13. These guidelines are augmented by the department policy that PhD supervisory committees shall contain:

• the committee chair, normally one's research advisor,

• one or more additional faculty members in the same research area,

• at least one regular faculty member outside one's area of research,

• both theorists and experimentalists,

• one member, other than your research advisor, who is designated as a Faculty Mentor,

• a total of at least three regular Physics faculty members (not adjuncts or affiliates),

• a Graduate School representative (GSR), who cannot have an appointment in Physics.

The composition of a PhD supervisory committee must be approved by the Graduate Program coordinator. It is the student's responsibility to find a GSR, although this often relies on contacts that the committee chair or other committee members have with faculty from other departments. At least three regular Physics faculty members of the committee, and the GSR, must be present at General and Final Exams. It is recommended that supervisory committees include more than the minimal number of members; this is benficial if some members cannot participate when scheduling a General or Final Exam.

If a student's research advisor is outside Physics and does not hold an Adjunct appointment in Physics, then the faculty mentor must be a regular Physics faculty member and will act as the official chair of the Supervisory Committee. In such cases, the supervisory committee should meet anually with the student, and the Faculty Mentor should meet at least quarterly. In the Annual Activity Report, the three regular Physics faculty members on the supervisory committee must report on the student's progress and how the research fits within Physics. Finally, the dissertation Reading Committee, a subset of the supervisory committee, must include two regular Physics faculty members and report to the Graduate Program coordinator not only on the status of the dissertation draft but also comment on and concur that in their opinion the disserataion represents Physics research.

Departmental Committees

Department committees, both standing and ad-hoc, are created and charged by the department chair in consultation with the executive committee. An annual faculty questionaire is used to solicit committee service preferences.

Graduate student volunteers are solicited to serve on a subset of department committees. The annual student solicitation questionaire is jointly administered by the executive committee (EC) and physics graduate student council (PGSC). Using this input, one or more slates of possible student committee members is prepared during a joint meeting of the EC and PGSC. The PGSC must agree to proposed student committee members, the EC must independently approve any students serving on Graduate Admissions. Acceptable slate(s) formulated in this process will be sent to all graduate students for a vote expressing slate preference (if applicable) and ratification.

In the event that a problematic member seriously impedes the functioning of any committee, the department chair, in consultation with the committee chair, may remove that committee member. Should this become necessary for a student committee member, the necessity for and possible selction of a replacement student member will be considered in consultation (as constrained by FERPA) with the PGSC spokesperson.

New Course Proposals

Any proposal for a new course should contain:

• The overall description of course content, goals, and intended audience.

• Proposed prerequisites, explicitly spelled out.

• An envisioned syllabus with week-by-week topics to be covered.

• Likely resources & readings to be used.

• Expectations of students and proposed assessments (what sort of homework, exams, projects, etc).

• Identified faculty who've indicated willingness to teach the proposed course.

Following usual department procedures, course proposals should go to the relevant program committee (Intro teaching, Majors, or Graduate) for their consideration and endorsement. For courses intended to be regularly offered, proposals then go to the EC, followed by presentation at a faculty meeting.