In their final year, students are required to complete an independent research-based capstone project in the Physical Sciences in consultation with a faculty supervisor. This academic experience is a valuable opportunity for students to engage in cutting-edge research in the physical sciences, while simultaneously synthesising and utilising what they have learnt in their courses. Students also have to communicate the results of their capstone project to the faculty and their peers, using presentation and writing styles consistent with practices in the professional scientific disciplines.

Identification of project and supervisor

The capstone project in the Physical Sciences will be identified in conversations between the student, the potential supervisor, and the Head of Studies. The supervisor should be a member of the Yale-NUS faculty, but if appropriate, an outside member of the scientific community may serve as a supervisor.  In such a case, a Yale-NUS co-supervisor must be appointed.  All projects and supervisors must be approved by the Head of Studies.

The capstone project is expected to be a significant piece of original research that will be carried out over the course of the final year. It may involve experimental work in the laboratory of the supervisor, or theoretical/computational work under the guidance of the supervisor. The project will culminate in a dissertation that documents the project context, the research performed, the results obtained, a discussion of those results, and the conclusions reached at the end of the capstone.

Range of topics and formats

The capstone can be an experimental or theoretical project in, but not restricted to, physics, chemistry, or earth sciences. Purely library research-based projects will not be approved. The capstone project has to be a significant piece of original independent research, which may be a part of, or related to, the current research of the supervisor. The capstone may also be a project proposed and developed by the student, with the supervisor agreeing to provide laboratory space and guidance for the project. A  project related to education in the physical sciences is also possible, provided it contains investigative elements and involves independent thinking.

Activities as part of the project

In addition to conducting the attendant research and writing of the dissertation, students are expected to meet with their capstone supervisors regularly throughout both semesters of the final year. This may involve formal scheduled meetings, attendance of the student at regular research group meetings of the supervisor, or informal discussions in the laboratory or research offices. This will enable the student to receive timely feedback on their work progress.

All Physical Sciences majors doing their capstone projects should concurrently enrol in YSC4209 Physical Sciences Research Seminar.

Format(s) of final product

The capstone dissertation is a substantial scholarly document that includes:

1. An abstract
2. Introduction which puts the student’s research into context
3. Description of the experimental or theoretical methods used in the work
4. Description of the results obtained
5. Discussion based on the results
6. Conclusions reached
7. Bibliography listing the references used throughout the capstone dissertation.

Assessment

The Physical Sciences capstone projects will be assessed based on (1) the oral presentation (20 %) given to the faculty and peers in the second semester, and (2) the dissertation (80 %) submitted by the due date (as advised by Registry). Besides the faculty supervisor, the faculty attending the oral presentation will also contribute towards the assessment of the oral presentation. For additional information on capstone assessment, please refer to the College capstone guidelines and regulations.

To demonstrate the wide variety of topics that Physical Sciences students pursue for their capstone projects, what follows is a sample of capstone titles from past Physical Sciences students:

• Synthesis of Dithienylethene Photochromic Ligands and Their Influence On The Kinetics Of The Copper(I)-catalyzed Azide-alkyne Cycloaddition Reaction
• Cell death modalities: Confocal microscopy and classification with Convolutional Neural Networks
• A Resolved Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting Tool Adaption for High-Redshift Galaxies
• Tracing the origins of ancient ceramics: techniques for sample preparation and elemental analysis at Yale-NUS College
• Mathematical methods for characterizing dendrite arbors
• Design and Characterization of a BitterType Zeeman Slower and External Cavity Diode Lasers for Laser Cooling and Trapping Lithium Atoms in a MagnetoOptical Trap
• Thermal Comfort in Urban Environments: A 3D Numerical Model for Standard Effective Temperature
• Insights into Cosmic Reionization, or How the Universe went from Hydrogen Bubble Bath to Us-Containing Star Stuff
• Transport In Twisted Bilayer Graphene Near Magic Angle: The Remarkably Early Onset Of Phonons
• Towards the Investigation of CO Loss Mechanisms in CORM-2 and CORM-3 by Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Mimics
• Estimating Noise Bias of a Single-Qubit Pauli Channel
• Predicting III-oxide Transparent Conductors Using Materials Informatics