Welcome to the NAU Department of Physics & Astronomy

News and Updates

•  

  Dress Like Buzz Day (May 2, 2012)

• Astronaut and Astronomer: 2 of the 11 hardest jobs to get in America, according to collegetimes.us--a College blog that's prone to offending people with controversial opinions, practical tips and advice, and underground research that will shock you. (April 19, 2012).

• Many Solar System Comets May Be Sun's Stolen Goods
  	2011 REU student Catherine Gosmeyer (Indiana University) and her mentor, Dr. Stephen Levine (Lowell Observatory), created a computer simulation to calculate how often stars would be likely to exchange comets when they passed close by each other, as stars often do in the course of their lives orbiting the center of the galaxy. Reported in Space.Com, Feb. 28, 2012

Kudos

• Dr. Kathy Eastwood steps down as Chair of Physics & Astronomy
  
  (May 11, 2012).
  
  Thanks for your dedication, hard work, and great leadership!
   
  
• Congratulations to the graduating class of 2010!
  
  (May 11, 2012).
• Congratulations to Christine Atkins upon the successful defense of her master's thesis entitled, Investigating Impact Crater Morphologies as Indicators of Volatiles in Arabia Terra, Mars (April 26, 2012).
• Congratulations to Cho-Hsing Chang (Yoko) upon the successful completion of her oral examination for her master's degree. (April 25, 2012).
• Congratulations to Dary Ruiz-Rodriguez upon the successful defense of her master's thesis entitled, RX J0513.1+0851 AND RX J0539.9+0956: TWO YOUNG, RAPIDLY ROTATING SPECTROSCOPIC BINARY STARS (April 24, 2012).
• Congratulations to Brian Burt upon the successful defense of his master's thesis entitled, The Mars Trojan Asteroids: Further Insights into Origins (April 19, 2012).
• Congratulations to Keir Leos upon the successful defense of his master's thesis entitled, Laboratory Studies of Isotope Enriched Ices Relevant to the Outer Solar System (March 6, 2012).
• Congratulations to Laurie Urban, on being chosen as a recipient of the 2011 Research and Creative Activity (RCA) Award for Most Promising Undergraduate Student Researcher at NAU.

  This award is given to a current or recently-graduated NAU undergraduate student who has demonstrated intellectual initiative and a dedication to learning through participation in extra-curricular research, scholarly and/or creative pursuits.

  Laurie, graduated this past May, with Bachelor of Science (Merged Physics & Astronomy). As an undergraduate, Laurie's research interests were in the areas of planetary system evolution, exoplanets and planetary disks. (9/12/2011)

• Congratulations to Dr. Nadine Barlow, on being chosen as a recipient of the 2011 Research and Creative Activity (RCA) Award for Most Effective Research Mentor at NAU. The award will be presented at a ceremony on Monday, September, 12. (9/1/2011)
• Congratulations to Dr. David Trilling, on being chosen as a recipient of the 2011 Research and Creative Activity (RCA) Award for Most Promising New Scholar at NAU. The award will be presented at a ceremony on Monday, September, 12. (8/31/2011)
• Under the direction of Dr. Mark James, the Dept. of Physics & Astronomy has earned First Year Learning Initiative (FYLI) Certification for PHY 111 (General Physics) and PHY 161 (University Physics).

  These courses "maximize rigor and support for struggling students using the framework developed by the FYLI leadership group comprised of innovative and experienced faculty and staff." And, "features practices that address the particular needs of first-year students and that demonstrates to students the amount and kind of effort needed to succeed in college." (8/24/2011)

Important Dates

• Summer Session I (June 4 - July 3)
  • PHY 111: General Physics I
  • PHY 161: University Physics I

• Summer Session II (July 9 - August 7)
  • AST 180: Intro. Astronomy
  • PHY 112: General Physics II
  • PHY 262: University Physics II