What do some our alumni say about their education at HMC?
Scott Pace (’80)
George Washington University
Physics majors can certainly go on to do all kinds of strange things, even public policy and international affairs:
Physics training has been an invaluable aid throughout my career despite my grade in quantum mechanics. : >
Sept. 1, 2012
Ken Lorell (’65)
Hine design
So what do I think about a physics education some 30+ years after graduation? Would I do it all over again? There's absolutely no question in my mind. For anyone entering virtually any of the engineering or science disciplines, with maybe the exception of organic chemistry, an undergraduate physics education is invaluable. I went on to the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Stanford School of Engineering for my Ph.D., and my HMC physics degree was a major advantage in practically every class I took and in my thesis research. In addition, in my years as a technical contributor, having the breadth and depth that a physics degree provides made me much more versatile than my colleagues who studied some branch of engineering. I was able to apply basic concepts from E and M, dynamics, optics, and even basic nuclear physics / relativity theory / quantum mechanics to solving problems and inventing new techniques. The ability to understand physical phenomena and apply basic principals to analysis and problem solving is directly related to the solid foundation that I got as a physics major. The colleague with whom I had my most successful collaboration, by the way, has a Ph.D. in physics (with engineering subjects, from the Sorbonne) and my former boss has a degree in Engineering Physics from Cornell---just indications of how a physics degree is a key building block to a successful technical career.
Jan. 1, 1997
Fred Streitz (’83)
Auburn University
I love teaching (but then, I learned from the best), and love my research - it's trying to do both all the time that I am finding taxing.
Jan. 1, 1997
Nate Cook (’95)
IvyMax
My Mudd education has been indispensable for this job. My attitude towards science has been the single most important strength, and I know that my years at Harvey Mudd contributed positively and greatly to that attitude.
Jan. 1, 1997


