PHY 321 Final Project Presentations#
Fall 2025
Scheduling Notes#
Project presentations are scheduled first and randomly distributed
Missing submissions are placed at the end of each day
Other students may leave early once project presentations conclude that day
Students must review at least two other presentations on days they are not presenting; attendance is required
Feedback will be shared with the presenters before they submit their computational essays
Each presentation duration is based on group size (1 person: 7 min, 2 people: 9 min, 3 people: 11 min)
Monday, December 01, 2025#
Project Presentations#
12:00 PM - 12:09 PM (9 min)#
Group: Pendulum rotators
Focus: Double pendulum and rotation
Description: We wanted to have a project that had an application to something in engineering, and we realized that the combining pendulums and rotation would allow us to do this. The goal here is to simulate the behavior of a double pendulum, but we decided to make this a chaotic system. We will do this by having a rotating base for our system and we will study this in the same reference frame (that of an observer). The chaotic system makes it more interesting and allows us to include the effects of different forces, and emphasizes_ the importance of choosing the correct initial conditions. This will help us study the effects of vibrations, wind, earthquakes, etc. on buildings, which will allow us apply our knowledge to the case of tall structures that need to counteract these effects in order to not collapse.
Team Members:
Giles Alva (alvagile@msu.edu)
Brenner Berlinger (berling4@msu.edu)
12:09 PM - 12:16 PM (7 min)#
Group: Chaos
Focus: The Chaotic Dynamics of the Double Pendulum System
Description: The double pendulum is a physical system consisting of a pendulum with another pendulum attached to the end. It is one of the simplest dynamical systems exhibiting deterministic chaos. Several systems in nature exhibit similar chaotic behavior, including weather systems, planetary orbits, and fluid dynamics. The double pendulum serves as an accessible model for understanding chaos in more complex phenomena. I formulate the equations of motion of the system using Lagrangian mechanics. The governing differential equations have no closed form analytical solution, which warrants the use of numerical methods. Here, I use the velocity Verlet algorithm for its energy conservation, which is important for systems with complex dynamics. I analyze the chaotic behavior of the system by plotting phase space contours, visualizing trajectories and analyzing Poincaré sections. I also quantify sensitivity to initial conditions using Lyapunov exponents to characterize the chaotic regions of the phase space.
Team Members:
Hrishikesh Belagali (belagal1@msu.edu)
12:16 PM - 12:27 PM (11 min)#
Group: The Slingshots
Focus: Our focus is to launch a ship off of earth, slingshot off the moon, and send it to mars.
Description: For our project we are performing the calculations needed to launch a spaceship from Earth’s surface and launch it towards the moon where we will be performing a gravitational slingshot around the Moon and throwing the Ship towards Mars with an increased Velocity than the Initial-V due to our gravitational slingshot.
Team Members:
Melody Baker (bakerm87@msu.edu)
Luke Rushing (rushin17@msu.edu)
Josh Friedman (fried233@msu.edu)
12:27 PM - 12:34 PM (7 min)#
Group: Bucky the Beaver
Focus: How does drafting reduce drag and increase top speed for racecars?
Description: This project focuses on drafting during a straight line area during a race, and how that allows for cars to speed up, and increase their speed above their normal speed during a long race, and how it allows for passing due to the speed boost. This was done by looking at the aerodynamic drag.
Team Members:
Ryan Tanzer (tanzerry@msu.edu)
12:34 PM - 12:41 PM (7 min)#
Group: Jai
Focus: Elo Rating Systems
Description: Describing elo rating systems as a potential with a particle being the “player.” Using the standard equation for elo.
Team Members:
Jai Gupta (guptaja3@msu.edu)
12:41 PM - 12:48 PM (Missing Submission)#
Group: None
Focus: TBD
Description: Project info not yet submitted
Team Members:
Katrina Elakkari (elkkari@msu.edu)
Wednesday, December 03, 2025#
Project Presentations#
12:00 PM - 12:07 PM (7 min)#
Group: Go Green!
Focus: Comparing Gravitational Acceleration with Altitude Above Earth’s Surface and Across Planetary Bodies
Description: How does the magnitude of gravitational acceleration g(r) vary with altitude above a planet’s surface, and how do those variations compare among Earth, Moon, Mars, and Jupiter? I will implement code that computes and plots g(r) from the surface up to high altitudes, extend the model beneath the surface, add contextual annotations, such as typical orbital heights, and explore effects of planetary oblateness, rotation (centrifugal correction), or high-order gravity harmonics.
Team Members:
Donovan Robinson. (robi1368@msu.edu)
12:07 PM - 12:14 PM (7 min)#
Group: Lexi Hunter
Focus: Defining periodicity in exoplanets
Description: Using publicly available data, I downloaded a dataset and transformed it to observe any transit light curves and their subsequent periodicity and radius. This uses computational techniques from the class and what we’ve learned about periodicity and orbits, and taught me more about exoplanets.
Team Members:
Alexandria Hunter - (hunte210@msu.edu)
12:14 PM - 12:23 PM (9 min)#
Group: Laika-corp
Focus: Escape velocity and Drag Forces
Description: Modeling and demonstrating all relevant forces acting upon a spherical mass launched from Earth’s surface to the Moon’s surface. Ai resistance, gravity from both bodies, ai density over distance, and velocity reduction.
Team Members:
Robin Bafile - (Bafileco@msu.edu)
Jay Sataloff - (sataloff@msu.edu)
12:23 PM - 12:32 PM (9 min)#
Group: 2/3 bodies
Focus: Three-body problem
Description: We are looking at the three-body problem. Multi-body interactions have always been inherently chaotic, with a multitude of outputs with varying initial conditions. The 3-body problem does not have a general solution; however, the use of models can be used to approximate different orbits that we can observe. Through the modeling of a 3-body orbit of planets and stars, we can visualize complex orbital systems with varying initial conditions and their trajectories as they evolve.
Team Members:
Wilhelm Hawes (haweswil@msu.edu)
Natalie DeRoos (deroosn1@msu.edu)
12:32 PM - 12:39 PM (7 min)#
Group: pp panda
Focus: Rock skipping
Description: For my final project, I’m studying the physics of rock skipping and trying to model what conditions let a stone skip more times. I’ve been reading research papers, including a helpful JFM paper that explains how forces like lift, drag, attack angle, impact angle, and spin all affect the bounce. I’ve started building a simple Python model of the rock’s flight in air, and I’m now working on adding the water-impact force so the rock can rebound realistically. My goal is to test how launch speed, angle, and stone orientation change the number of skips.
Team Members:
Mingyang Wu (wumingya@msu.edu)
Friday, December 05, 2025#
Project Presentations#
12:00 PM - 12:09 PM (9 min)#
Group: LeBron James
Focus: Microwave oven waves
Description: We are finding and modeling the effect the rotation of the little plate has on microwave ovens and how to optimize microwaving for optimal heat distribution.
Team Members:
Alex Cross (crossal4@msu.edu)
Leslie Lainio (lainiole@msu.edu)
12:09 PM - 12:18 PM (9 min)#
Group: Project Paul Trap (PPT)
Focus: The focus of our project is computationally modeling the dynamics of charged particle confinement in a linear Paul trap. We are investigating how time-varying electric fields can overcome Earnshaw’s theorem to create stable trapping regions for charged particles.
Description: Our project explores how to trap charged particles using oscillating electric fields, overcoming the limitations of static fields described by Earnshaw’s theorem. We’re building a computational model of a linear Paul trap, which is a device used in quantum computing and precision measurement. Using Python, we simulated particle trajectories in time-dependent quadrupole fields, analyze stability conditions, and create visualizations of the confinement process. This work shows how numerical methods can bring theoretical physics concepts to life, showing the difference between electric forces and particle motion.
Team Members:
George Singletary (singl109@msu.edu)
Micheal Cadwell (cadwell7@msu.edu)
12:18 PM - 12:29 PM (11 min)#
Group: Fizzics Gang
Focus: Modeling a rocket that uses the moon as a gravitational assistant as a slingshot.
Description: For this project, we are modeling a rockets trajectory shooting from Earth and making it to Mars, using the moon as a gravitational slingshot. We will start with basic physics of a point particle and add complex physics to it. The rocket will have thrusters and this project seemed really interesting to us.
Team Members:
Kevin Hall (hallkev6@msu.edu)
Tatianna Jefferson (jeffe150@msu.edu)
John Isabel (isabeljo@msu.edu)
12:29 PM - 12:36 PM (Missing Submission)#
Group: None
Focus: TBD
Description: Project info not yet submitted
Team Members:
Alex Moore (moore80@msu.edu)