Research

Denison is well known for creating the kind of research opportunities for undergraduate students that often are reserved for graduate students at other institutions. The Department of Astronomy faculty members are talented educators, active researchers, and dedicated mentors who engage their students in the exciting processes of creating new knowledge through student-faculty research.

Fields of Research

Faculty members actively advise & encourage students as they explore areas of interest beyond the curriculum.  Faculty members in the Department of Physics, commonly work together with their students, and are actively engaged in leading-edge research and discovery in several exciting fields of study, including some of the following: 

• Astrophysics is broadly focused on the evolution and structure of planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe.
• Atomic/Molecular/Optical (AMO) physics research seeks to understand the structure of and interactions between atoms, molecules, and light.
• Biomechanics is an interdisciplinary field that combines physics with anatomy and physiology to better understand how the moving body interacts with the physical world.
• Biophysics is a burgeoning field that endeavors to derive and understand complex biological systems from the principles pf physics and is, by definition, highly interdisciplinary work, with applications in physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and engineering.
• Condensed Matter physics encompasses the properties of solids, crystals, semiconductors, polymers, superconductors, superfluids, and other novel materials.

Opportunities For Research

Summer Scholars

The Summer Scholar Program permits students to pursue full-time collaborative work with faculty members or independent research under the close supervision of faculty members for a minimum of ten weeks during the summer.

Senior Research

Senior Research offers a wealth of opportunity for in-depth exploration, investigation, and discovery. It's usually undertaken in collaboration with, or under close supervision by, a faculty member. Normally, senior research requires a major thesis, report or project in the student's field of concentration and carries eight semester-hours of credit for the year.

Independent Studies

Independent Study engages students in the pursuit of clearly defined goals, working on a project that has been approved by the faculty member who agrees to serve as the project advisor.