The Department of Physics and Astronomy
We provide students a complete and rigorous undergraduate education in physics culminating in a Bachelor of Science degree. Our curriculum provides the ideal preparation for physics or engineering graduate school, careers in scientific research, or professions as educators. We are a dedicated faculty that is passionate about teaching and we are committed to the meaningful involvement of undergraduates in research. With small class sizes and varied research opportunities, we offer a unique learning opportunity for students interested in the natural sciences.
Physics Seminar
Ross 0220 - Friday 2/15 @ 3:30pm
Solutions to the Ising Model and Spontaneous Phase Transitions - Noah Blair
Using a Shoebox Spectrograph to Investigate the Difference Between Reflection and Emission - Makayla Erzinger
Dynamics Days Conference
UNC Physics presented a poster at the Dynamics Days conference held at Northwestern University January 4-6 2019 on Examining Human Unipedal Quiet Stance: Smoothness.
Total Lunar Eclipse Viewing Event
A total lunar eclipse will be visible across the United States on Sunday, January 20th. This will be the last total lunar eclipse anywhere in the world until 2021 and the last one visible in Colorado until September, 2025. If you would like to view the eclipse through a telescope, you can join members of the University of Northern Colorado Physics and Astronomy department at a special eclipse viewing session at the UNC Astronomy Lab.
UNC Astronomy Outreach
Prof. Mariana Lazarova and her intrepid Astronomy 100 students held a massively successful outreach event for 100 local 4th grade students at the University Center. Students took part in fifteen activities on topics ranging from the sun, the moon, and the galaxy, to filtered light, rockets, dark matter, and climate change.
APS Four Corners Section Meeting
UNC Physics students Sergio Chacon, Maya Davidson, and Tyler Onufrak recently attended the APS Four Corners Section Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Maya served on the organizing committee, and Tyler presented his work on Imaging and Mapping of Quantum-Like Behavior in a Hydrodynamic System.
UNC Astronomy Day
UNC Physics and Astronomy took part in the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery Astronomy Day. Profs. Mariana Lazarova and Charles Kuehn talked about Astronomy and Light, and engaged visitors with hands-on activities.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to the 2018 Physics & Astronomy Academic Scholar Award winners: (top L-R) Joshua Fender, John Ringler, (bottom L-R) Clayton Orback, Andrew Roth, (not pictured: Rydell Stottlemeyer, Caleb Dahlke).
Congratulations!
Dr. Semak was awarded the Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Award at the NHS Excellence Awards Ceremony held on February 1, 2018.
APS Four Corners Section Meeting
UNC Physics presented three talks and four posters at the APS Four Corners Section Annual Meeting held at CSU:
Doing Research with Undergraduates in a Bachelor's-only Physics and Astronomy Department: Challenges and Successes (Dr. Semak), Ionization Dynamics in Intense Bicircular Laser Fields (Dr. Chaloupka), Thermodynamic Studies of Phase Transitions in Inflationary Cosmology (Dr. Mallory), Measuring Atmospheric Muon Flux during the 2017 Solar Eclipse (Fender, Ringler, Morse), Electroencephalography and the Mechanical Operation of an Exoskeletal Arm (Helms, Zadina), Postural Control: A Sample Entropy Approach to One-Legged Stance (McMillan), Biomimicry: Designing and Building a Multilegged Robot (Sweitzer).
Physical Review A Publication
UNC Physics teamed up with CU-Boulder, publishing their recent work on Observation of Ionization Enhancement in Two-Color Circularly Polarized Laser Fields in Physical Review A.
CO-WY AAPT Meeting
UNC Physics was well represented at the Colorado-Wyoming Section Meeting of the AAPT, where students presented FIVE posters:
Biomimicry: Design and Construction of a Mulitlegged Robot (Sweitzer), Investigating the Impact of a Solar Eclipse on Atmospheric Radiation (Fender, Ringler, Morse, Angstead), Postural Control: A Sample Entropy Approach to One-Legged Stance (McMillan, Semak, Heise), Electroencephalograpy and the Mechanical Operation of an Exoskeletal Arm (Helms, Zadina), Psychoacoustics: Understanding Sonic Intelligibility (Briggs)
Congratulations!
Congratulations to the Physics & Astronomy Academic Scholar Award winners, seen here with Professor Matt Semak at the NHS College event. (top, L-R): Semak, William Mendoza, Ryan Fabian, Arick Sweitzer, (bottom, L-R): Alexandra Briggs, Kourteney Zadina, and Zachary Rossiter.
Bears Go Big
UNC Bears go out into the world to do BIG and significant work. Meet Adam Wilson, Founder of Sphero and a 2010 UNC Physics Alum.
UNC helped me prepare for my success [and] gave me the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research.
