Physics and Astronomy 2009-2010
Overview
At Union, Physics and Astronomy classes are small and personal, labs are taught by the regular faculty rather than by graduate students, and instruction is characterized by individual attention. While the faculty are thoroughly dedicated to teaching, we regard research as an essential part of our profession, and we expect our students to join us in the joy of discovery. Despite our size, the equipment holdings in Physics and Astronomy are comparable to those of a much larger institution. More importantly, though, all of our equipment is really used by our students.
Graduates have distinguished themselves in many fields, including engineering, medicine, law, and business as well as physics and closely related interdisciplinary fields. Of the 900 or so private liberal arts colleges in America, Union ranks fourth in the production of graduates who have obtained a Ph.D. degree in physics. A recent study shows that Union has traditionally produced professional scientists at a higher per capita rate than the Ivy League universities or the nation’s large state universities.
The Physics and Astronomy program is designed to develop a wide range of analytical and practical skills and to involve students in an important experience of independent investigation. We offer core courses in undergraduate physics plus more specialized courses in areas such as astrophysics, biophysics, medical physics, and nuclear physics. The requirements for the B.S. degree in physics are ten courses in physics, including an advanced laboratory course and independent research, two advanced courses in mathematics, and two in other sciences. The requirements for the B.A. degree in astronomy are ten courses in physics and astronomy (including independent research), two courses in mathematics, and one in another science. An attractive option is the combined B.S. in physics -M.S. in engineering degree, which has proven to be highly popular with employers. Recent graduates of the program have found a wide variety of good job opportunities.
The best education a young scientist can acquire occurs beyond the classroom, and the department provides a variety of extracurricular opportunities with this in mind. Independent research with a faculty colleague is required for the degree in physics, and this work has often led to beneficial contact in the wider scientific community. Many of our students have spent their summers at Union or at national laboratories doing research and have presented their results at regional or national conferences on undergraduate research or in student-coauthored articles for scientific journals. The department Web site (listed below) has lots of information on student research projects. The department also maintains an active colloquium series to help keep students and faculty in touch with exciting developments elsewhere. We have active local chapters of the Society of Physics Students (SPS); the physics honor society, Sigma Pi Sigma; and the scientific research society, Sigma Xi. The SPS chapter sponsors day trips to nearby research facilities as well as hikes and other social events.
FACULTY AND STAFF
Samuel Amanuel
Assistant Professor of Physics
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University
Material science
Rebecca Koopmann
Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D., Yale University
Astronomy
Scott LaBrake
Senior Lecturer of Physics and Accelerator Manager
Ph.D., The University at Albany
Accelerator and environmental physics
Seyfollah Maleki
Professor of Physics
Ph.D., RPI
Atomic spectroscopy
Jonathan M. Marr
Visiting Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley
Astronomy
Jay E. Newman
Gordon Gould Professor of Physics
Ph.D., New York University
Biophysics
Chad Orzel
Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D., University of Maryland
Atomic physics
A.G. Davis Philip
Research Professor of Physics
Ph.D., Case Institute of Technology
Astronomy
Gary R. Reich
Professor of Physics
Ph.D., Rutgers University
Statistical mechanics and physics education research
Rebecca Surman
Associate Professor of Physics
Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Nuclear astrophysics
Michael F. Vineyard
Frank and Marie Louise Bailey Professor of Physics
Ph.D., Florida State University
Experimental nuclear physics
Francis P. Wilkin
Lecturer of Physics and Observatory Manager
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Astronomy
FACILITIES
We have nine major research laboratories. These are:
(1) Union College observatory (20-inch telescope, CCD camera, spectrograph, 7.5-foot radio telescope);
(2) Accelerator Lab (one megavolt Pelletron particle accelerator, vacuum evaporator for preparing thin targets);
(3) Atomic Spectroscopy Lab (two-meter spectrograph, diode lasers, Fabry-Perot interferometer);
(4) Light-Scattering Lab (argon ion laser, intensity fluctuation autocorrelator computer, computer-controlled rheometer);
(5) Astronomy and Astrophysics Computational Lab (three Sun and five Linux workstations);
(6) Nuclear Physics Computer Lab (Beowulf computer cluster for data analysis and simulations of electromagnetic nuclear physics experiments at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility);
(7) Laser Cooling Lab (diode lasers, fiberoptics, ultra high vacuum system);
(8) High-Speed Photography Lab for innovative teaching techniques.
(9) Nano Thermodynamics Lab (power compensated calorimeter, mid-infrared spectrometer, electron miscroscopes).
The department has made major upgrades to its student optics laboratory (including a tunable dye laser, a 1” linear diode array, and a computer interfaced 1/4 m folded monochrometer), its student modern physics laboratory (including a scanning tunneling microscope, apparatus for Mossbauer, muon physics, Franck-Hertz, electron spin resonance, and x-ray experiments), and its astronomy program (including a variety of telescopes and accessories). We have also made innovative changes to the introductory classrooms to allow active student engagement (including facilities for automatic data acquisition, computer projection of images, and video capture for studying motion).
We welcome visitors to our facilities. If you would like to visit, or if you seek additional information, please call (518)388-6254, write to Professor Michael Vineyard, Chair, Physics and Astronomy Department, Union College, Schenectady, N.Y. 12308, or send e-mail to vineyarm@union.edu. Visit our web page at www.physics.union.edu.