Particle in a Box: An Experiential Approach to Quantum Mechanics Education

Faculty: 
Nassim Jafarinaimi (DM); Azad Naeemi (ECE)
Students: 
Aditya Anupam, Andy Jin, Nora Hong

Theories of Quantum Mechanics(QM) have been central to the philosophical and technological advances in physics and related fields. Some of the most important aspects of these theories are outside the bounds of human experience, predominantly explained and taught drawing on abstract mathematical formulas. How can we advance the experience-based learning of abstract concepts such as QM so students develop the in-depth understanding needed to further advance these theories by generating and testing new hypotheses? This research project addresses this question through a series experimentations with digital media (e.g., by designing interactive games based on the rules of QM) engaging whether and how digital media could serve as the basis for an experiential understanding of QM concepts. For more information and to play the latest version of the game please visit, http://learnqm.gatech.edu

Lab: 
Director: 
Nassim JafariNaimi
Faculty: 
Nassim JafariNaimi
Students: 
Aditya Anupam, Sylvia Janicki

Design and Social Justice Studio brings an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students together to examine the experiential and participatory dimensions of digital media and their relationship to establishing and supporting democratic forms of social interaction. Research at the studio spans both theoretical inquiry and experimental design, situated at the intersection of Design, the Humanities, and Human Computer Interaction. We design and investigate a variety of design products and services (e.g., locative media, visualizations and mapping, policy media, social and educational media) drawing on a range of design methods and strategies, most notably participatory and co-design methods, ethnographic methods, and experimental designs.

Projects are often in collaboration with other units on campus, other schools, as well as local non-profit organizations. Among current collaborators are Schools of Public Policy and Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech; the iSchool at the University of British Columbia; Mayo Clinic; and local organizations such as Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Fulton County Department of Health, and Central Atlanta Progress.