phy.duke.eduDepartment of Physics

Skip to main content Menu Events News Search form Search Main menu Graduate Ph.D. Requirements For Prospective Students Graduate Placements Admissions Admissions Process Financial Support Fellowships Past Fellowship Recipients Campus Visits & Open House Living in Durham New Student Orientation 2019 For Current Students Assessment Exams Annual Reports Academic Integrity Policy Criteria For Good Standing Standards of Conduct Research Talks Preliminary Examination Dissertation Mini Courses Conference Travel Steps to Graduation Graduate Student Organization GSO Leadership GSO Meeting Minutes GSO Updates Undergraduate For Prospective Students Learning About Physics Learning About Biophysics Credit for College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Physics Majors & Minor B.S. Degree Requirements B.A. Degree Requirements Physics Minor Requirements Biophysics Majors B.S. Degree Requirements B.A. Degree Requirements Biophysics Faculty Course Selection & Recommendations Introductory Physics Course Intro Course Placement Sample Course Schedules For Current Students Faculty Research Advisors Independent Study Undergraduate Research Undergraduate Research Fellowships Fellowships for Majors Study Abroad Graduation With Distinction Honors Thesis Past Honors Theses Daphne Chang Memorial Award Tutoring & Course Help Transfer Credit Transfer Credit FAQ Courses All Courses Spring 2020 Fall 2019 Summer Session II, 2019 Summer Session I, 2019 Research Research Areas Cosmology and Astrophysics Atomic/Molecular/Optical (AMO) Physics Biological Physics Condensed Matter & Materials Physics Experimental Nuclear Physics Geometry / Theoretical Physics High Energy Physics Imaging & Medical Physics Nonlinear & Complex Systems Theoretical Nuclear and Particle Physics Quantum Information Science Research Labs Big Questions BQ1: What are the ultimate laws of nature? BQ2: What principles govern strongly interacting matter? BQ3: How does quantum physics explain and predict novel materials? BQ4: How can we understand complex soft matter and biological systems? BQ5: How can physics research improve the practice of medicine? BQ6: How does physics drive the information and computing revolutions? BQ7: How can we use physics to benefit society? About Our Facilities Directions Resources Our History 1924 to 1945 1946 to 1962 1963 to 1985 1986 to 2005 Faculty Interviews Historical Faculty Lawrence C. Biedenharn Edward G. Bilpuch William M. Fairbank Walter Gordy Harold W. Lewis Fritz London Henry W. Newson Walter M. Nielsen Lothar W. Nordheim Hertha Sponer William D. Walker Department Chairs Former and Current Faculty Graduate Alumni Statement on Conduct Physics Department Conduct Accountability Committee People Faculty Staff Researchers Graduate Students Alumni & Friends For Our Alumni Assisting Duke Students For Current Students Contribute Physics Alumni Robert C. Richardson Endowed Professorship The at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, USA, invites applications and nominations for the Robert Richardson Endowed Professorship in experimental physics of atoms, molecules, and condensed matter. The Robert Richardson professorship is a tenured senior position to be held by a distinguished scientist with a strong record of accomplishment in both research and teaching. Learn More Prof. Fischer Award from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Congratulations to our colleague Prof. Martin Fischer, for receiving an award by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative related to the Advanced Light Imaging and Spectroscopy (ALIS) facility. Learn more Prof. Troxel Explains What is at the Edge of the Universe Prof. Michael Troxel is featured on the front page of Gizmodo answering the question "What is at the edge of the Universe?" Learn more Physics Department Members Receive Intellectual Community Planning Grant Members of the Physics Department have received a 2019 Intellectual Community Planning Grant. Congratulations to David Beratan, Patrick Charbonneau, Jianfeng Lu, Michael Rubinstein, Warren Warren, and Weitao Yang, Learn more Former Postdoc Himmel on TWIS Podcast Former HEP postdoc Alex Himmel, now at FermiLab, was interviewed on the podcast This Week In Science (TWIS) explaining neutrinos. Learn more Welcome to Duke Physics! Physics matters. Physicists explore the most fundamental questions in science. Less than 5% of what fills the universe is atoms and ordinary matter: what is the rest? Why do different measurements give different sizes for the proton? Can a deeper understanding of symmetry unravel the mysteries of the subatomic scale, or help understand materials science? Physicists create the tools which underpin most scientific and societal advances. The transistor, the integrated circuit, the laser, the world-wide-web and virtually every medical imaging method started as basic physics. In the 1940s, studying the properties of nuclear spin was the height of esoteric science; today it is the basis of magnetic resonance imaging, and can even be used to watch people think. Every day at Duke, dozens of patients have tumors imaged with antimatter. Bizarre effects in quantum mechanics, such as forbidden states and entanglement, show promise to improve computing, secure communications and diagnose disease. Physicists at Duke work on these problems, and many more. We operate from a tradition of great scientists, including Nobel Laureates, going back to the beginning of the university. And the best is yet to come. We are hiring first rate faculty, expanding our research into near areas such as cosmology and soft matter physics, and are exploiting the wonderful Duke environment for interdisciplinary science. We invite you to look through these pages, to get a sense of the excitement of Duke Physics and the promise of the future. Tweets by DukePhysics Upcoming Events Fri 28 Feb Joint HEP/Theory Seminar: Toward an understanding of neutrino flavor mixing in core-collapse supernovae 1:00 PM @ Physics 278 Tue 03 Mar TNT Colloquium: A two-component picture of the proton [Duke] 3:30 PM @ Physics 298 Wed 04 Mar MEMS/MatSci Seminar: Designing Bio-Inspired Liquid Layers to Control Biological Systems at Surfaces 12:00 PM @ Fitzpatrick Center Schiciano Auditorium Side A, room 1464 All Events Latest News Monday, January 27, 2020 The Electron-Ion-Collider to be built at Brookhaven National Lab – Duke Faculty helped pave the way! Monday, January 27, 2020 Profs. Barbeau and Scholberg Selected as “Snowmass” Frontier Conveners Wednesday, January 22, 2020 Cosomology Group Members Attend LSST Meeting Monday, January 6, 2020 Prof. Scholberg to Participate in S&S Dinner Dialogue All News Stories Departmental Research Big Questions Our department works with colleagues to tackle some of the big questions regarding physics Learn More Specialty Areas Our 10 research areas are supported by other depart- ments, labs and organizations Learn More Labs Our faculty and affiliated labs concentrate further on those areas of departmental research Learn More Physics Bldg., Science Dr. Campus Box 90305 Durham, NC 27708 (919) 660-2500 Academic Degrees Ph.D. Program Majors in Physics Majors in Biophysics Minor in Physics Undergraduates Tutoring Help Course Selection Transfer Credit Faculty Research Advisors Graduate Students Admissions Steps to Graduation Graduate Student Organization Stay Connected Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Department Newsletters Statement on Conduct Shibboleth login NetID Login Search form Search Graduate Ph.D. Requirements For Prospective Students Graduate Placements Admissions Admissions Process Financial Support Fellowships Past Fellowship Recipients Campus Visits & Open House Living in Durham New Student Orientation 2019 For Current Students Assessment Exams Annual Reports Academic Integrity Policy Criteria For Good Standing Standards of Conduct Research Talks Preliminary Examination Dissertation Mini Courses Conference Travel Steps to Graduation Graduate Student Organization GSO Leadership GSO Meeti...