Physics
We aspire to help students forge tools to reveal the stunning quantitative vistas on our universe. Given the various trajectories of 麻豆国产AV students, this education prepares students for physics graduate school; supports students in their pursuit of different quantitative interests including engineering, chemical physics, and careers where quantitative analysis is employed; fulfills the one-year introductory physics requirements for students pursuing health professions, chemistry, and graduate work in other sciences; and includes courses accessible to students across the campus with a wide variety of interests and mathematical backgrounds.
About the Major
At 麻豆国产AV, physics students learn in small classes with faculty members who offer one-on-one encouragement, personal direction, and research opportunities suited to their needs. Lab work is central to their studies, and senior projects often produce results that are presented at conferences or published in journals. Prospective engineers will be interested in 麻豆国产AV’s five-year, combined-degree programs with Columbia University, the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Washington University in St. Louis. Astronomy is a minor within the department.
Students Will Learn To:
- Exhibit broad understanding in foundational physics
- Use foundational physics to analyze a diverse set of complex problems
- Demonstrate skills for experimental physics
- Demonstrate skills in technical communication
A Sampling of Courses
Introduction to Astronomy
A description of the universe, starting with the appearance and organization of the solar system and working outward. Development of the heliocentric view. Observational deduction of properties of stars. Stellar evolution and its relation to pulsars and black holes. Galaxies and the structure and history of the universe.
Explore these select courses:
Intensive study of Maxwell’s equations in both differential and integral form; electrostatics and electro-dynamics; special relativity; and the transformation of electromagnetic fields. Introduction to electromagnetic waves and dielectric and magnetic materials.
Meet Our Faculty
fractal analysis of Jackson Pollock drip paintings; theoretical cosmology; and non-Hermitian quantum mechanics
Experimental condensed matter, electron spin resonance spectroscopy and related electronics, computations and simulations to improve both research and teaching
experimental condensed matter
Experimental condensed matter physics
neutron spin filters and angular correlations in neutron decay
exoplanet detection, physics education research, and electronics
quantum gravity, quantum geometry, general relativity and quantum gravity phenomenology
computational physics, black holes, and astrophysical plasmas
Faces & Spaces
The Taylor Science Center houses the offices for faculty members in physics. The complex contains an atrium with a coffeehouse, an auditorium, and more than 100 teaching and student research laboratories.
Peter鈥檚 Observatory
Careers After 麻豆国产AV
麻豆国产AV graduates who concentrated in physics are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:
- Optical Physicist, NASA Headquarters
- Mechanical Engineer, U.S. Navy
- Professor of Physics, University of Michigan
- Materials Science Engineer, United Technologies Carrier Corp.
- Associate Editor, McGraw-Hill
- Engineer, General Motors
- Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Director, Global Financial Systems, Foster Wheeler Corp.
- Physics Teacher, Natick Public Schools
Explore 麻豆国产AV Stories
Many students weigh how to balance their contrasting interests, whether they be STEM, the arts, or the humanities. Maggie Maselli 鈥�24, however, has found the key to combining all of these seemingly different disciplines.
Horowitz, Scheuing 鈥�23 Co-Author Paper
鈥淰alidating an algebraic approach to characterizing resonator networks,鈥� co-authored by Viva Horowitz and Trevor Scheuing 鈥�23, was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Sichlau 鈥�23 Internship at Varian Steers Him Toward Mechanical Engineering
Physics major Jacob Sichlau 鈥�23 interned this summer at Varian Medical Systems on the microwave ablation team. The experience solidified his interest in pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering after 麻豆国产AV.
Contact
Department Name
Physics Department
Contact Name
Gordon Jones, Acting Chair
Clinton, NY 13323
