Why Physics?

• Physics is the most fundamental of sciences; it explains how the world works. All natural phenomena obey the laws of physics.
• Studying physics develops quantitative reasoning and problem-solving skills that are valuable in many fields.
• Physics majors have broad career perspectives, from basic research to industry, spanning fields from technology to medicine, finance, and law.

Why S&T?

• The S&T Physics department is just the “right size”: big enough to provide a rich education and exposure to cutting-edge topics, small enough to give individual attention to every student.
• S&T Physics offers a combination of focus areas not found elsewhere in Missouri.
• Our students have many opportunities to work on state-of-the-art research projects with faculty who are world leaders in their fields.

Department Facts

• We offer an undergraduate BS degree in physics as well as graduate MS and PhD degrees. We also offer an accelerated program to the MS where students can earn graduate credit during their undergraduate studies.
• We currently have 15 faculty, 30 graduate students, and 80 undergraduates.
• We have research programs in astrophysics; atomic, molecular, and optical physics; and condensed matter and materials physics.

Select Courses Offered

Quantum physics
Atomic and molecular physics
Nuclear and particle physics
Solid state physics
Astrophysics
Computational physics
Chaos and fractals
Cosmology
Optics

Research Opportunities for Students

Advanced Lab
Physics 4099 
Fuller Competition
First Year Research Experience (FYRE)
Opportunity for Undergraduate Research Experience (OURE)

Key Research Topics

Dark energy
Gravitational waves (LIGO)
Ultrafast  lasers
Novel materials
Quantum phenomena
Low temperature physics
High-performance computing