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Department Chair Welcome

Welcome to the Department of Physics.

Physics is the study of matter and its motion and behavior, from the smallest to the largest things in the universe.   The field includes astronomy, perhaps making it the oldest science, and includes many of the foundations for other sciences.   Can you name a famous physicist that you admire?  Most people can, which is one measure of the influence of physics on human history.

In the physics department, we have a faculty with broad expertise and research interests and if you have some physics topic that interests you, I can likely direct you to someone who’d love to discuss it with you.  We have expertise in stellar astrophysics, planetary science, theoretical and particle physics, space physics, materials science, physics education, atomic and laser physics, and atmospheric science.  

We offer three bachelor’s degrees, in Physics, Applied Physics, and Physics Teaching.  Within the Physics program, we offer emphases in Astrophysics, Theoretical Physics, Computational Physics, and the Physics of Materials.  

Our research facilities include the rooftop Keith Terry Palen Observatory, a Scanning Electron Microscope, an Atomic Force Microscope, a Laser Optics laboratory, a student project space that includes 3D printing and electronics repair, and Sputtering and Atomic Layer Deposition systems. 

Our students have gone on to graduate study in physics and related fields, have gone on to own their own businesses, or work for a number of employers in the region.  For a picture of the excellent career prospects for people with physics degrees, I’d encourage you to browse the data at the . 

If you’d like to talk to us about majoring or minoring in physics, or if you’d just like to talk to us about physics, please feel free to stop by on the third floor of the Tracy Hall Science Center.

Dr. Colin Inglefield
Department Chair