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for California State University, Fresno.
Department of Physics
The College of Science and Mathematics
RAYMOND HALL, Chair
NANCY WRIGHT, Administrative Support Coordinator
McLane Hall, Room 173
559.278.2371
559.278. 7741 FAX
http://physics.fresnostate.edu/
B.A. in Natural
Sciences Teaching Credential
Physics Option
Minor in Medical
Physics
Single Subject Teaching Credential
in the Sciences
Waiver Program
Preprofessional advising in
Premedical
Preoptomentry
Faculty
Raymond Hall, Chair
Gerardo Munoz, Graduate Coordinator
Amir Huda, Premedical Adviser
Pei-Chun Ho, Undergraduate Adviser
Steven J. White, Downing Planetarium Director
Manfred Bucher
Yongsheng Gao
Vanvilai Katkanant
Frederick Ringwald
Douglas Singleton
Daqing Zhang
Lecturers:
Nima Kasraie
Karl Runde
Hans Vander Noordaa
Don Williams
Physics
The fascination of physics is that it is so fundamental: the continuing attempt to understand how things work. It combines observational and experimental grappling with nature to get the facts of behavior, with the crea-tive synthesis of these facts into theories and laws of nature, often beautiful in their simplicity and universality.
Albert Einstein said, "They [the laws of theoretical physics] should form the basis from which a picture of all processes of nature can be derived by thoughtful deduction - and these include also the processes of life." He also said, "The deeper we search, the more we find there is to know, and as long as human life exists, I believe it will always be so."
More specifically, physics includes the study of the fundamental particles that make up all matter, of electro-mag-netic, gravitational, atomic and nuclear forces, of energy, of light and heat, of electronics and the structure and properties of materials, of the interiors of the Earth and the stars.
Faculty and Facilities
Our faculty members are here to teach and to do research. Several faculty members have research projects involving students. Two of our faculty members do theoretical work in particle physics and field theory while others are involved with numerous different experimental research fields; some of our faculty are involved in physics pedagogy.
Our classes are small; our upper-division and graduate classes usually have 10-15 students or less. Physics majors get to know each other very well. They develop friendships with peers, faculty, and staff, which extend well beyond graduation.
The Department of Physics has an active theoretical physics program that focuses on gravitational physics and field theory. We have ongoing collaborations with several international research groups including the Institute of Applied Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, the Center for Gravitation and Fundamental Metrology (VNIIMS) at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, and the Universidad de Costa Rica. Our students in this area regularly attend national and international conferences to give talks, and they are active in publishing their research work in refereed journals. Several international researchers have visited our department and engaged in collaborative research, colloquia, and seminars.
Five new research laboratories are also part of our current experimental efforts: Radiation Measurements and Instrumentation; High Energy Physics (HEP); Strongly Correlated Electron; the Nanotechnology; and Astrophysics. Since 2009, our HEP program has been on the ATLAS experiment of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization of Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC started collisions in 2009 and will remain the most powerful collider in the world until at least 2030. We are the only CSU campus officially collaborating with ATLAS or CMS, the two flagship LHC experiments. A major goal of these LHC experiments is to discover new physics, and our ATLAS researchers and students contributed to the historical discovery of the Higgs boson announced at CERN in July of 2012. Our HEP program has been supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) Elementary Particle Physics (EPP) core grants and a Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant. We have been leading the effort in building a CSU Nuclear and Particle Physics Consortium (NUPAC) which currently consists of 14 CSU campuses. Since 2008, 25 CSU NUPAC students have worked at CERN with our ATLAS program for at least one summer.
The Strongly Correlated Electron and Nanotechnology laboratories are well equipped with both teaching and student research equipment, such as a pulsed NMR spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer, and Hall effect system. The lab is available for experiments on superconductivity, temperature-dependent measurements of electrical resistivity, semiconductor band structure, thermal conductivity, thermopower, and specific heat. Two new major pieces of equipment have been added for condensed matter physics research: an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer that is capable of sub ppm resolution and a Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer (FTIR) that permits analysis of spectra in the mid-infrared region. We also have a three-stage high temperature furnace and a fume hood, which provide a sample preparation environment.
Our state-of-the-art facilities allow many sensitive measurements of condensed matter properties such as resistivity, conductivity, mobility, charge concentration, activation energy, the charge sign of majority carriers, and photoconductivity. It leads us to material science technologies, such as the study of nanowires and nanoparticles. It also leads to bulk samples of novel semiconductors and superconductors, which have great potential for technical applications such as solar cells, sensors, energy conservation, development of high-field magnets, and telecommunications. The condensed matter program has recently received Research Corporation.
Undergraduate and graduate students may participate in astrophysics research. They can also be involved in international campaigns with ground-based telescopes and with space observatories, including Hubble Space Telescope and other NASA spacecraft. The astrophysics laboratory is loaded with powerful computing equipment, all available to students. It is used for image processing and remote observatory operations.
We have upgraded instrumentation in our existing Radiation Laboratory and we have established a new program of research in biomedical physics. In general, the field is subdivided into four subspecialties: nuclear medicine, diagnostic radiology (use of X-rays, MRI, ultrasound, etc.), radiation therapy (the use of radioactive materials produced by accelerators for the treatment of cancer and other diseases), and radiation biology. With the establishment of affiliations with local area medical centers, research opportunities in this field are open for our students.
We have initiated one of the first medical physics/neuroimaging undergraduate programs in the nation with a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH/NIMH). Students enrolling in this special degree program will get a chance to intern at the end of their junior year in the finest state-of-the-art laboratories across the nation. Our department has a collaboration with the VA Medical Center, where students are provided with hands-on instruction on MR scanners and other imaging equipment. The curriculum ranges from courses in MRI/MRS, X-ray imaging, nuclear medicine, and neuroimaging to courses in radiation health physics. This program is designed to provide a solid foundation in physics, biology, and mathematics so that students can tackle the challenges of an interdisciplinary program of graduate instruction in the broad field of neurosciences. The program also aims to serve as a feeder program to graduate schools across the nation.
The Downing Planetarium, operated by the Physics Department, was completed in 2000. It has proven highly successful, with more than 300,000 visitors since opening. The planetarium features a computer controlled Minolta MS-10 star projector and a main theater with 74 reclining seats under a 30-foot dome. The facility presents multi-media shows on a daily basis.
Adjacent to the planetarium is a campus observatory equipped with a 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and CCD cameras. This observatory has been used for classes and for student research projects. A second observatory with a more advanced 16-inch telescope is at a dark site in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This telescope is remotely controlled from campus, and students can download images from it over the Internet without having to go to the telescope site.
Career Opportunities
Approximately half of our bachelor's and master's degree graduates have gone directly into graduate school at various institutions, pursuing master's or doctoral degrees in physics or related fields. The other half have found employment in teaching, in industry, in government, and in the medical professions. We have also observed a recent increase in the demand for high school physics teachers.
Physics graduates have the versatility, knowledge, and analytical skills necessary to adapt quickly to the opportunities which arise in the dynamic world of modern science and high technology. Our graduates report interesting, exciting careers with increasing levels of responsibility and satisfaction.
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