Exploration of the physics behind low-temperature properties of materials including resistance and superconductivity. Construction of instruments that utilize those properties such as superconducting transition-edge-sensors (TES), which are used for single photon detection. Instrumentation development involves hands-on and collaborative problem solving, mechanical design and fabrication, circuits and electronics, programming, and data analysis.

An introduction to contemporary elementary particle physics. Topics include: the conceptual underpinnings of the standard model; particle accelerators; searches for new physics; and the relationships between particle physics, nuclear physics, and cosmology.