Physics & Astronomy at Washington State University
The highly-rigorous undergraduate program prepares graduates to be competitive in top graduate programs or for employment.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Washington State University is built around a small but highly productive 20 faculty whose research expertise provides students a wide variety of research experiences. The PhD program and the thesis Master’s degree blend demanding coursework with cutting-edge research to prepare graduates for jobs in academia, industry, and government labs. Our programs emphasize core academic competency and research excellence.
29/09/2022
Congratulations to Zoya Ghorbanishiadeh for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
28/09/2022
Congratulations to Alexander Messick for passing the Doctoral Preliminary Examination!
26/07/2022
Congratulations to Syeed Ahmed for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
18/07/2022
Congratulations to Victor Murcia for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
15/07/2022
Congratulations to Fred Woodall for the successful completion & passing of the Masters Final Examination!
06/07/2022
One of our graduate students, Dr. Heather Moon published a textbook! https://buff.ly/3nMPbm5
Heather A. Moon received her PhD in Mathematics in 2013 at Washington State University and then spent 8 years as an Assistant/Associate Professor of Mathematics at liberal arts colleges, where she mentored numerous undergraduate research projects in data and image analysis. As chair of sciences at a nearby public four-year institution, her love for science was revived and she was drawn to return to WSU to pursue a PhD in Physics. Currently, Heather is a research assistant in the Institute for Shock Physics. Her goal is to find a way to use mathematics and physics to make a positive impact in this world.
Our text was written to bring relevance to linear algebra. The text uses two main data applications: Heat Diffusion for Diffusion Welding and for Image Warping and Radiography/Tomography. From these applications come the inspiration to develop the topics of an introductory Linear Algebra course. The text is notably different than other applied linear algebra texts in that pedagogical examples, definitions, and theorems are all given after the applications inspire understanding. The text stems from work related to an NSF-IUSE grant that the authors were awarded in 2014. More information about all our work is found at https://buff.ly/3afjy1I.
06/07/2022
The department is hiring!
Administrative Manager Title: 1205-NN - Administrative Manager Business Title: Administrative Manager Additional Titles: Location: WSU PULLMAN CAMPUS Employee Type: Admin. Professional Job Family: Administrative Professional - Not OT Eligible Position Details: Summary of Duties The Administrative Manager serves the Depart...
05/07/2022
The department has a Fiscal Specialist position available, apply today!
Fiscal Specialist Title: 151E-YN - Fiscal Specialist 1 Business Title: Fiscal Specialist Additional Titles: 148N-YN - Fiscal Technician 3 Location: Employee Type: Classified Job Family: Civil Service - OT Eligible Position Details: Summary of Duties: The Fiscal Specialist, under general supervision, performs fiscal a...
30/06/2022
Congratulations to Awwad Alotaibi for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
03/06/2022
Welcome our 2022 REU Waves in Physics students!
01/06/2022
Congratulations to Chris Pansegrau for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
16/05/2022
Congratulations to David Morin for the successful completion & passing of the Masters Final Examination!
13/05/2022
Congratulations to Robbie Robinson for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
28/04/2022
Congratulations to Erik Wasleske for passing the Doctoral Preliminary Examination!
Part time docent to present planetarium shows to groups. Must be willing to learn planetarium software and hardware. Hours are extremely flexible, but appointments must be kept. Hours include weekday daytime appointments and weekend evening appointments. Includes some summertime appointments.
Minimum qualifications: Ability to effectively make presentations to groups of all ages.
Desired qualifications: The ideal candidate will have a dynamic, engaging public speaking presence that can work well with all ages, an interest in science education and astronomy, and some astronomy knowledge or the ability to learn basics such as the causes of seasons and moon phases.
$18/hr min, DOE. Job will remain open until an acceptable candidate is chosen. Applicant review will begin May 2, 2022. Training can begin as early as May 4 for the successful candidate.
26/04/2022
Thank you to all those in the department who attended the department's Spring Recognition Ceremony, and congratulations to the honorees and graduates!
22/04/2022
Congratulations to Brandon Castillo for the successful completion & passing of the Masters Final Examination!
22/04/2022
Congratulations to Bernard Hall for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
22/04/2022
Congratulations to Kyle Elsasser for the successful completion & passing of the Masters Final Examination!
21/04/2022
Congratulations to Tamanna Khan for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
20/04/2022
Astronomers identify likely location of medium‑sized black holes - WSU Insider Intermediate-mass black holes are notoriously hard to find, but a new study indicates there may be some at the center of dense star clusters located throughout the universe.
18/04/2022
Congratulations to Xiang Shi for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
08/04/2022
Congratulations to Khalid Hossain for the successful completion & passing of the Doctoral Final Examination!
See cake for more details.
Congratulations Dr. Michael Allen on your Excellence in Undergraduate Advising award!
2022 Recipients 2022 Award Recipients Eighteen faculty, two staff, and five graduate students have been honored for their contributions to the college and WSU communities, and for their commitment to excellence. Outstanding seniors will be announced in mid-April. Faculty Career Awards | Faculty Teaching Awards | Fa...
06/04/2022
Congratulations to our SURCA 2022 Award recipients!
Engineering and Physical Sciences, Gray Awards:
Emma Speight
Physics and astronomy
Mentor: Brian Collins
“Dynamics of Ordering of Conductive Polymer Films Printed Under Controlled Airflow”
Joshua Bilsky
Chemistry, physics, and astronomy and Honors College
Mentor: Fred Gittes
“Statistical Analysis of Brownian Motion Data Published in Jean Perrin’s Book ‘Les Atomes’”
Awards | SURCA: Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities | Washington State University Students can win awards at SURCA for making exemplary presentations of commendable research, scholarly, or creative activities. In general, awards are given based on the quality of three aspects of the student’s work: 1) the student’s ideas, methods, and output reflected in the research, scholar...
23/03/2022
15/03/2022
Be sure to stop by and visit us at the APS March Meeting in Chicago, Graduate School Fair will be held at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Exhibit Hall F1 - all day Tuesday!
11/03/2022
Physics & Astronomy at Washington State University added a button to help you learn more about them.
11/03/2022
Congrats to the Cougs in Space students, safe travels to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center!
Cougs in Space: Launching satellites and careers - WSU Insider A WSU student team is building small satellites about the size of a Kleenex box that they hope to someday launch into space.
10/03/2022
Another successful recruitment weekend in the books, thanks to all of our prospective students for visiting us on the Palouse, we hope to see you in the Fall!
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