Physics Curriculum Needs Fluid Mechanics

Thanks to Jerry Gollub for his wake-up call “Continuum Mechanics in Physics Education” ( Physics Today, December 2003, page 10 ). Ever since I made the switch from physics to MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), I’ve wondered why the only people I encounter who know how to do fluid mechanics were trained as mechanical engineers. Particularly in MEMS, where a real understanding of how to extend fluid dynamics knowledge to nontraditionally small scales is useful, a physicist’s broad training would be a great advantage. Yet, when I go back to the physics camp and tell folks what a hot topic fluid dynamics is, with demand for systems that perform fluid mixing, DNA sensing, and chemical sensing on a single chip (the so-called lab on a chip, useful from drug development to emergency room care), I’m told that the standard four-year physics curriculum just doesn’t allow time to fit in a course on fluid dynamics.

Clearly, engineering students have a great advantage in the job market because their education has focused on practical problems, with the curriculum continually adjusted to remain relevant to the working world. Anything that gives physics students a unique ability over students of other disciplines—for example, mastery of fluid dynamics—should be highly encouraged. Otherwise, the physics curriculum will continue to become less relevant, and students will continue to flock to disciplines that promise a better return, both in paycheck and in career choices, on the intense investment of effort in school.