Preface
Welcome to SP3176!
In transition 76 is one of the longest-running courses in SPS. As I mentioned earlier, however, 76 is currently in transition towards a curriculum that is better aligned with the SPS journey within CHS.
The current version of 76 uses two activities and two projects to achieve its learning objectives. Broadly speaking, these are designed to prepare you for SP3172 and, more importantly, for interdisciplinary scientific research.
Please take a few minutes to look through the course schedule (in the next tab) to familiarise yourself with how the course is organised.
Quality over quantity 76 focuses less on content and more on developing the broad, transferable skills that will help you become a better scientist. As a result, I have deliberately reduced the emphasis on teaching large amounts of content.
Instead, you will find only the background knowledge needed to get started on each activity or project. This mirrors the way many interdisciplinary research projects are carried out. Researchers rarely begin by mastering an entire discipline. Rather, they identify what they need to know, learn it, and immediately apply it to the problem at hand.
Reducing the amount of content also reflects one of my educational beliefs: covering more material does not necessarily result in learning more. Developing meaningful scientific skills requires time to think, discuss, experiment and reflect.
For this reason, I have deliberately moderated the amount of content while setting high expectations for the quality of your work, your scientific reasoning, and your engagement with the course.
Your commitment Because 76 is a 4 MC course, you should expect to spend, on average, around 10 hours each week on lectures, interactive sessions (IS), preparation, activities and projects.
The two projects are intentionally flexible, allowing you to organise your work in a way that best suits your group. The activities, however, require a little more planning.
Activities Both activities have experimental and analysis components. To complete them successfully, you will need to prepare beforehand by working through the background material before coming to class.
I have tried to make the material as self-contained as possible so that you do not need to spend time searching for better or more detailed sources. My aim is simply to bring you up to speed so that you can use the content as a tool for solving scientific problems, rather than developing a deep understanding of the underlying phenomena. The latter, while important, is not the primary goal of this course.
Whenever I felt that a concept might be difficult to grasp independently, I have included worked examples to help you along. I strongly encourage you to work through these examples carefully to understand the underlying concepts and the reasoning behind them.
I strongly encourage you to do this preparation with a small group of classmates. Explaining ideas to one another is often one of the most effective ways to learn. At the start of each lecture, I will also set aside time to answer any questions you may have about the preparation material.
In-class quizzes This semester, I have introduced short in-class quizzes during the final 15 minutes of each lecture. These are intended as assessment for learning, providing an opportunity for you to discuss, reflect on and consolidate what you learnt during the previous week. They are designed to help you identify gaps in your understanding while there is still plenty of time to address them.
Learning is a partnership 76 is run in a very interactive fashion, with plenty of opportunities for discussion. This reflects my belief that teaching and learning are a partnership between you and I, with the common goal of helping one another grow intellectually and personally.
There will undoubtedly be occasions when you disagree with my decisions, teaching approach or the way certain activities are organised. If that happens, please let me know; do not suffer in silence. I am always happy to explain the reasoning behind a decision and, where appropriate, make changes to improve the course. We are on this journey together.
If, by the end of 76, you have become a more thoughtful, independent and resourceful scientist, then the course will have achieved its purpose. I hope you enjoy the journey.
Chammika Udalagama
August 2026
| Week | Start date | Activity | Note | In-class Quiz (During Lectures) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 10-Aug | Activity I | Monday is a Public Holiday | No (Mock quiz) |
| Week 2 | 17-Aug | Yes [#1] | ||
| Week 3 | 24-Aug | Yes [#2] | ||
| Week 4 | 31-Aug | Activity II | Yes [#3] | |
| Week 5 | 7-Sep | Yes [#4] | ||
| Week 6 | 14-Sep | Project 1 | Start Project 1 | Yes [#5] |
| Recess | 19-Sep | Rest! No activities allowed! (Dry Lab is Off Limits) | ||
| Week 7 | 28-Sep | Project 1 | End Project 1 | No |
| Week 8 | 5-Oct | Viva 1 | ||
| Week 9 | 12-Oct | Project 2 | Start Project 2 | |
| Week 10 | 19-Oct | |||
| Week 11 | 26-Oct | End Project 2 | ||
| Week 12 | 2-Nov | Viva 2 | ||
| Week 13 | 9-Nov | Nothing planned | ||
| Type | Code | Time | Venue | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | L1 L2 L3 |
Mon 08:00–10:00 Mon 10:00–12:00 Tue 08:00–10:00 |
S16-05-018 S16-05-018 S16-04-31 |
|
| Tutorial IS |
T1 T2 T3 |
Wed 10:00–12:00 Wed 12:00–14:00 Thu 10:00–12:00 |
SPS Dry Lab |
|