My ENTIRE Physics Degree in 19 Minutes (UChicago B.S. Astrophysics 2019)

The speaker begins by sharing her initial romanticized view of a physics major, expecting to delve into the universe's origins immediately. However, she quickly realizes the reality differs from her expectations. She outlines her journey through the University of Chicago's physics program with an astrophysics specialization, encompassing 19 out of 44 total courses. The talk is aimed at detailing her experiences with each course, from the foundational to the advanced, and how they unexpectedly aided her transition into the data science field. She emphasizes the importance of the introductory physics and math courses that laid the groundwork for her understanding of physics, despite not being her favorite subjects.

The speaker proceeds to describe her first year, which was filled with core courses common to all physics majors. She covers introductory physics, including mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and waves, optics, and heat. She candidly discusses her dislike for electricity and magnetism due to its practical nature, contrasting with her theoretical inclination towards astrophysics. She also mentions the math courses she took, such as calculus and math methods in physics, which are prerequisites for STEM majors and foundational for understanding physics as applied math, especially quantum mechanics.

In her second year, the speaker delves into modern physics, which she likens to an introductory quantum mechanics course, and math methods, which further hones the mathematical skills necessary for advanced physics. She expresses her struggle with intermediate mechanics but enthusiasm for quantum mechanics, where she learned about the uncertainty principle, wave-particle duality, and the probabilistic nature of quantum events. Additionally, she took a statistics course, emphasizing the importance of understanding data analysis in physics.

The speaker's junior and senior years were marked by specialized astrophysics courses and an exploration of the history of physics. She discusses her passion for the history of science, particularly the history of extraterrestrial life and the atomic bomb. Her physics courses included radiation processes in astrophysics, computational astrophysics, and high-energy astrophysics, which not only satisfied her academic curiosity but also prepared her for a career in data science. She also highlights a unique course on the history of physicists in Germany, providing a deeper understanding of the interplay between science and society.

The speaker's journey culminates in courses that brought her closer to her initial fascination with the universe's origin. She describes cosmological physics, where she learned about the proof for the Big Bang and the cosmic microwave background. She also discusses courses on the physics of stars, current topics in astrophysics, and observational techniques, all of which deepened her understanding of astrophysics. Her academic experience was rounded out by a course on the history of extraterrestrial life, which provided a unique perspective on the intersection of science and religion.

In her final year, the speaker took courses that were less about astrophysics and more about general physics requirements, such as statistical and thermal physics. However, she also took computational astrophysics, which was instrumental in her career transition to data science. She learned about Monte Carlo methods, Bayesian inference, and machine learning techniques that are directly applicable in her current field. Her undergraduate research seminar and a course on large astronomical surveys further honed her research and analytical skills, setting her up for success in the tech industry.