It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Department of Physics.
Our department is focused on the education of our students and on providing them with excellent preparation for their future careers. We do this through our research-based teaching methods and through a faculty engaged in activities on the cutting edge of research.
There are many ways of describing what Physics is – at a fundamental level, it is the study of energy/matter and waves/particles. Physicists work at sub-atomic scales and at understanding galaxies and the universe. Physicists can be experimentalists, theorists or both. Physics is a foundational science that is key to finding solutions for a sustainable future for our planet.
At ASU, our research areas include biological physics, cosmology, materials and nanoscale science, nuclear and particle physics, and particle astrophysics. Among the first-class instrumentation our researchers have access to are electron microscopes (including low-energy ones, scanning probe microscopes, ion beam probes, solid-state lasers, and accelerators. The compact X-ray free electron laser (CXFEL) is the first of its kind in the world.
I am delighted to be part of a great department with a dedicated staff and a distinguished faculty. Together with our students we are working to grow our reputation and become even better at research and teaching. We take our commitment to serve our community seriously, and our department is actively becoming the new Physics 2.0 Department of the future.
Dr. Patricia Rankin
Chair of the Department of Physics