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Welcome to the Department of

Physics

Where opportunity abounds for inquisitive minds and outdoor explorers.

Students major in Physics to study the fundamental workings and make-up of our Universe. Those who major in Astronomy use physics to study particular aspects of the Universe, such as stars, galaxies, planets, and cosmology. Environmental Geosciences majors learn about how to protect and preserve our most valuable resource, Planet Earth. This includes trying to understand how our Earth and its inhabitants have changed over long time periods. In our Regents' Engineering Transfer Program students learn engineering basics in classes with high faculty-to-student ratios, and then transfer to one of the program's prestigious engineering schools (including, but not limited to, GA Tech) to complete a degree in any of many different engineering disciplines.

Our departmental facilities include a state-of-the-art optics lab, a remote observing station linking with SARA telescopes in Arizona and Chile, a new digital planetarium, and a very sophisticated petrology lab. Geoscience students use the great outdoors as a laboratory by taking excursions to see important geological features in the local region, as well as by participating in a three-week field trip to various locations around the Western US.

If you are interested in learning about the heavens or earth, our department has a major for you!

Edward E. Chatelain, Department Head