Faculty: 20
Staff: 8
Post Docs: 4
Grads: 30
Under Grads: 35
Research Areas:
Condensed-matter physics (nanostructures, quantum transport, low-temperature physics, ultrafast scanning tunneling microscopy, superconductivity theory, laser spectroscopy, biomedical optics), plasma and beam physics (magnetohydrodynamics and turbulence, plasma theory and experiment, physics of fusion devices, compact free-electron lasers), space physics (space plasma physics, studies of the ionosphere and magnetosphere, ring-current, and ground-, satellite-, and rocket-based observations of the ionosphere), astronomy (large-scale structure of the universe, supernovae, x-ray binaries, cataclysmic variables), and cosmology (field theory, phase transitions in the early universe).
Facilities:
Research facilities include fast-pulsed lasers and ultrafast imaging systems, scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopes, ultrahigh-vacuum systems,high field magnets, facilities for low-temperature measurements down to .01 Kelvin, plasma chambers, electron beams, and free electron lasers. Complete machine shop and electronic design and fabrication facilities are available. Computer facilities include a network of Silicon Graphics workstations and network access to supercomputing centers. Facilities for nanostructure fabrication include a clean room, thin-film deposition systems, electron-beam lithography, reactive ion etching, and analytical electron microscopes. Astronomical research facilities include the 2.4m Hiltner and 1.3m McGraw-Hill telescopes at Kitt Peak, Arizona. Field work in experimetnal space physics includes rocket- and satellite-based observation as well as travel to the Arctic and Antarctic for ground-based remote sensing. The physical sciences library subscribes to more that 1,500 journals.
'In a way science is a key to the gates of heaven, and the same key opens the gates of hell, and we do not have any instructions as to which is which gate.
Shall we throw away the key and never have a way to enter the gates of heaven? Or shall we struggle with the problem of which is the best way to use the key?'