Vanderbilt University - Department of Physics and Astronomy

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Vanderbilt University
6301 Stevenson Center
VU Station B #351807
Nashville, TN 37235

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(615) 322-2828
(615) 343-7263
physics-astronomy

As part of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, Vanderbilt physicists help build the pixel detectors that measure the trajectories of particles created at CERN's LHC.

VIIBRE is developing microfluidic devices for studying and controlling living cells. The trap shown above restrains human T cells, allowing researchers to study new ways that immune cells communicate.

Vanderbilt astronomers use the SMARTS telescopes at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in the Chilean Andes for research and student training.

The Applied Optical Physics group studies ultrafast processes in metals and strongly correlated materials, using tools such as a femtosecond white-light continuum generated in a photonic crystal fiber.

Vanderbilt particle physicists are exploring the structure and behavior of the Universe using the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.

As part of the LasDamas project, Vanderbilt astrophysicists are simulating the evolution of dark matter in the universe in order to constrain cosmology and galaxy formation.

Prof. J.H. Hamilton (left) with Y. Oganessian viewing Berkelium-249 prepared at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Nuclear physicists are working to synthesize a new element with atomic number 117.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Vanderbilt University combines the friendly and supportive atmosphere of a liberal arts college with the excitement and challenge of forefront research. The undergraduate program consists of a focused physics education combined with a wealth of skills from the humanities and social sciences. The bachelor’s degree prepares a student for a career in the private sector or for continuing one's education in physics, astronomy, engineering, law, medicine and many other fields.

Both undergraduate and graduate students actively engage in Departmental research programs that are supported by more than $6 million in external funding annually. These research programs are at the cutting edge of traditional areas of physics as well as being a major contributor to contemporary interdisciplinary institutions and centers.

More Info

Next Colloquium, February 4

Holger Kress, Yale University

Spatiotemporal control of cellular microenvironments
with photonics

News & Announcements

A new undergraduate textbook, "Modern Atomic and Nuclear Physics" by Prof. Hamilton and Fujia Yang has been published.
The history of our department, To Quarks and Quasars: A History Of Physics And Astronomy At Vanderbilt University, has been scanned into the Vanderbilt digital repository.
Prof. Pantelides and Prof. Varga are co-PIs on a new grant "Investigation of Physical Mechanisms of Radiation Induced Phenomena in Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene" from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Astronomy postdoc Leslie Hebb has published a paper in the Astrophysical Journal reporting the discovery of the shortest-period transiting exoplanet yet discovered.This discovery is also mentioned in Science Magazine.