News
On Saturday, 15 April 2017, the MSU Department of Physics & Astronomy will be a sponsor of Physics and Astronomy Day at Impression 5 Science Center in Lansing from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Students and faculty will lead hands-on interactive activities for children of all ages.
MSU’s nuclear physics graduate program, part of the College of Natural Science’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, is among seven MSU graduate programs that rank No. 1 nationally in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.
February 28, 2017
Laura Chomiuk named 2017 Cottrell Scholar
MSU Physics & Astronomy Assistant Professor Laura Chomiuk has been named as one of two dozen 2017 Cottrell Scholars by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.
January 18, 2017
Million-dollar gift establishes endowed professorship in honor of the late Dr. Wu-Ki Tung
The origin of the elements in the Universe is one of the big unsolved questions in science. Nuclear fusion reactions in stars are responsible for creating most of the light elements up to iron. Heavier elements are produced in a network of nuclear reactions and decays, mainly involving the capture of neutrons by unstable nuclei that only exist for fractions of a second. Therefore, it is essentially impossible to measure the majority of these rates directly in the laboratory because the unstable nuclei involved cannot be made into targets for irradiation with neutrons.
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation announced on Wednesday, 15 June&2016 the selection of 62 WW New Jersey Teaching Fellows for 2016. Among them is Michigan State University alumnus (M.S. 2016) Walter Buhro. The new Fellows were introduced at an event today with Governor Chris Christie.
The highly competitive program recruits both recent graduates and career changers with strong backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and math – the STEM fields – and prepares them specifically to teach in high-need secondary schools.
In earlier research, described here, MSU Physics & Astronomy Professors Mark Voit and Megan Donahue, along with other astrophysicists from other institutions, presented an explanation of the differing rates of star formation in different galaxy clusters which used analogies to rain formation in our own planet's atmosphere.
The 2016 Department of Physics & Astronomy Awards were presented at a reception held at 3:00 pm on Thursday, 28 April 2016 in the main conference room, 1400 BPS Bldg.
The award presentation was followed by a concert by the Grand Canonical Ensemble (Physics Choir).
The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC)has been in operation for just over a year, collecting detailed observations of approximately two-thirds of the sky at high energy gamma-ray wavelengths with about 15 times the sensitivity of previous gamma-ray survey instruments.
Marcos Dantus, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, is a leading expert on ultrafast laser pulse technology.