Research

Several department members engage in a range of particle physics research. Dr. Wilcox's research centers on lattice QCD. Dr. B.F.L. Ward is a high-energy particle theorist, performing research on the phenomenology of the Standard Model and on quantum gravity. Dr. Jay Dittmann leads the Experimental High Energy Physics group and currently works on the CDF experiment at Fermilab.

CASPER (The Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics, and Engineering Research), directed by Dr. Truell Hyde, pursues research in a variety of fields, from theoretical and experimental complex (dusty) plasmas to superstring phenomenology. Dr. Lorin Matthews studies dusty plasmas, Saturn's rings, the dynamics of dust crystals and hypervelocity impacts. Dr. Anzhong Wang of the Gravity, Cosmology and Astroparticle (GCAP) group and Dr. Gerald Cleaver of the Early Universe Cosmology and String Theory (EUCOS) group within CASPER study gravitation, cosmology, superstrings and M-Theory.

Solid state physics, specifically the characteristics and interactions of surfaces, is a key component of the department's research. Dr. Ken Park does experimental modification of surfaces and imaging using Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) techniques. Dr. Russell studies materials science, including surface properties, defects, and the effects of radiation. Dr. Linda Olafsen's research focuses on the optical and electronic properties of semiconductor heterostructures. Dr. Greg Benesh models surfaces mathematically, using Green functions.

Dr. W. Ariyasinghe engages in atomic physics experiments, using the department's 10 MeV Van de Graaff accelerator for studying interactions of intermediate-energy electrons with atoms. Dr. Jeffrey Olafsen does experimental research on nonequilibrium and nonlinear dynamics, in particular, the physics of granular systems.