The new Earl Swallow Memorial Computation Studio is a place for students to take classes, write computer code and solve equations, run simulations and study.
But the bright, welcoming room is also where students can gather to collaborate on projects, doodle on the whiteboards, hang out and laugh together as they work.
In other words, it’s a great place to learn computational physics.
The studio is being used “exactly as intended,” says Venkatesh Gopal, professor and chair of the Department of Physics. Designed by Gopal for today’s physics students, the studio is an interactive environment for “having fun, being creative and problem-solving as a group.”
The computation studio, in the basement of Schaible Science Center, is named for the late Earl Swallow, who served as chair of the physics department and was a beloved and impactful member of the Elmhurst University faculty for more than 35 years before his retirement in 2011 and his passing in 2017.
A generous gift from Professor Swallow’s wife, Bonnie Boerger, funded the creation of the studio, which was dedicated earlier this spring. More than 50 faculty members, friends and alumni came out for the dedication, which also was a tribute to Swallow, his passion for the physics program and for Elmhurst.
“It was really inspiring to hear how much Earl meant to so many people,” says Boerger, who also supports a book fund in her husband’s name that covers incidental costs for physics students in need. “The physics department is a small but active one that has produced students who have gone on to do great things, so I think it’s important to keep Earl’s memory alive by adding to the department and the college he loved.”
“Bonnie’s confidence in what we’re doing has meant a lot to me,” Gopal says. “The feeling of gratitude is bigger than the words I can find.”
The computation studio is the newest piece in a years-long effort by Gopal to build out the engineering physics program, both physically and academically, to equip students to become “technical creatives” and versatile problem solvers. In addition to the studio, the physics area has a metal-working machine shop, a student lounge, an optics lab, two research labs, a second machine shop for rapid prototyping, and a mechatronics lab.
In the computation studio, a long wooden table and chairs runs down the middle of the room. Much of the wall space is taken up by whiteboards, for performing calculations and sharing ideas. A huge television monitor on another wall enables students to connect their laptops and readily show their work to classmates and professors. In this setting, making mistakes and working through them together is “the best way to learn,” Gopal says.
Robert Halliday, visiting assistant professor of physics, says the space is ideally suited to its purpose.
“Having a space that says ‘computation studio,’ that’s set up so that you can sit across from and next to people, and just chat about what you’re doing and the cool results of your code, gives students a sense of purpose and direction,” he says. “This really solidifies for them that coding is an integral part of physics and that we need to know it for our profession.
“When we run computer simulations, we all just sit at the big table, everyone pulls out their laptops, and when we approach the assignments, the students are collaborating, answering the small questions and asking me the big questions, and they’re always joking and laughing,” he adds.
Gopal agrees. “The atmosphere is the opposite of a classroom,” he says. “I wanted a room filled with creative energy, where people can come together and create something.”