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 $8 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.

Stevenson Professor of Physics, Leonard Feldman, has been awarded the Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellowship for 2009 by the University of Melbourne. Professor Feldman is recognized for his outstanding record of accomplishment in the field of material physics and will be representing both Vanderbilt University and Rutgers University. He has served as Stevenson Professor of Physics at Vanderbilt since 1996. He  presently serves as Vice President of Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Director of the Institute of Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology at Rutgers University. Professor Feldman will spend the most of the month of July in Melbourne, Australia fulfilling this honor.

Congratulations to the Winner and Finalists of the 2009 Vanderbilt Prize for Undergraduate Research in Physics & Astronomy.
2009 WINNER:
Oleg Sergeevich Ovchinnikov, University of Tennessee at Knoxville - "Deciphering Nanoscale Disorders”
2009 FINALISTS: (in alphabetical order)
Amanda Stevie Bergman, Smith College - “Study of Non-Minimally Couples Inflation of the Early Universe Using Phase Portraits and Poincaré Maps”
Karan Pankaj Jani, The Pennsylvania State University at University Park - “The Effect of Initial Orientation of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna on its Sensitivity Pattern”

The students will be honored at an Awards Ceremony banquet on Friday July 10, 2009 attended by the Dept. Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, the Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Education, the Dean and Executive Dean of the College of Arts & Science.

Graduate student Hui-Yiing Chang has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. She will use the fellowship to conduct research in the Gravitational Wave sky.

Keivan Stassun has been selected to receive a fellowship from the Fletcher Foundation to reward work "furthering the goals and the spirit of Brown v. Board of Education". The award comes with a $50,000 cash prize.

Congratulations to our 2008-2009 Graduate Students for receiving the following Awards:

The Robert T. Lagemann Award given annually to an "entering or first-year graduate student for exceptional promise in physics". This year’s award is shared by: Eric Appelt & Susan Kost.

The Akunuri V. Ramayya Award is given to the most outstanding physics & astronomy graduate student Teaching Assistant. This year’s winner: William “Billy” Teets

The Royal Albridge Award is given annually to the most outstanding first time physics & astronomy graduate student Teaching Assistant.  This year’s (2008) award is shard by: Jason Pawlowski & Caroline Yount.

The awards will be presented Friday May 1 at 12:00 pm in 6333 SC.

Dr. Jay Dickerson (pictured at the top of this web page) has been awarded a new research grant from the Office of Naval Research. This single investigator award of over $360,000 for the next three years is for the project Fabrication of Robust, Smooth, Homogeneous, Nanoparticulate Ceramic Coatings via Electrophoretic Deposition.