SP255, Physics of Rock Climbing

•What is it?

•Why bother?

•What happens?

Physics of Rock Climbing is an opportunity for students to apply their technical expertise to the sport of climbing.

Students conceive and execute projectsof their own design.

“Physics” is loosely interpreted to be anybranch of technical expertise that mightbe used to answer the open questions in climbing: e.g. material science, physiology,psychology, computer science…

Physics of Rock Climbing permits students to apply their expertise to a field of immediate interest and a project of their own choosing.

Open questions in climbing lend themselves to undergraduate projects; project scope is suitable to a 14 week, low- budget semester, and research results and their dissemination are of immediateuse to the climbing community.

Eight SP255 students have participated in projects, 6 undergraduates, one graduate student, and one post-doc.