Physics and Astronomy

http://www.phys.utk.edu/

Adrian Del Maestro, Head
Marianne Breinig, Associate Department Head

Robert Grzywacz, Associate Department Head
Steven Johnston, Director of Graduate Studies
Christine Nattrass, Director of Undergraduate Studies

Professors
Batista, C.D. (Lincoln Chair of Excellence), PhD – Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina)
Breinig, M.J., PhD – Oregon
Dagotto, E.R. (Distinguished Professor), PhD – Bariloche (Argentina)
Del Maestro, A., PhD – Harvard
Efremenko, Y.Y. (Joint Faculty), PhD – ITEP (Russia)
Eguiluz, A.G., PhD – Brown
Fomin, N., PhD – Virginia 
Grzywacz, R., PhD – Warsaw University (Poland)
Grzywacz-Jones, K.L., PhD – Surrey (England)
Guidry, M.W., PhD – Tennessee
Hix, W.R., (Joint Faculty), PhD – Harvard
Johnston, S., PhD – Waterloo (Canada)
Kamyshkov, I., PhD – ITEP (Russia)
Mannella, N., PhD – California (Davis)
Mannik, J., PhD – New York (Stony Brook)
Mezzacappa, A., PhD – Texas (Austin)
Moreo, A. (Joint Faculty), PhD – Bariloche (Argentina)
Nattrass, C., PhD – Yale
Papenbrock, T.F. (Joint Faculty), PhD – Heidelberg (Germany)
Platter, L., PhD – Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms (Germany)
Read, K.F. (Joint Faculty), PhD – Cornell
Siopsis, G., PhD – California Institute of Technology
Spanier, S.M., PhD – Mainz (Germany)
Tennant, A., PhD – Oxford
Weitering, H.H. (Chancellor’s Professor), PhD – Groningen (Netherlands)
Zhou, H., PhD – Texas (Austin) 

Associate Professors
Liu, J., PhD – Arkansas
Madurga Flores, M., PhD – Madrid
Steiner, A., PhD – Stony Brook

Assistant Professors
Holmes, T., PhD – California (Berkeley)
Ko, W., PhD – Stanford
Lagergren, S., PhD – California Institute of Technology
Lee, J.S., PhD – Penn State
Lee, L., PhD – Yale
Nguyen, D., PhD – University of Virginia 
Qiu, Y., PhD - Utah
Zhang, R., PhD – Penn State
Zhang, Y., PhD – Max Planck Institute

Senior Lecturers
Lindsay, S., PhD – New Mexico State
Pokhrel, N.R., PhD – Florida International 
Sternberg, J., PhD - University of Tennessee

Lecturer
Kokkas, E., PhD – University of Tennessee
Guerinot, I., - MS – University of Tennessee
Bangar, S., - MS – Institute of Science & Education & Research, India

Director of Undergraduate Laboratories
Cheney, C., PhD – Vanderbilt

Physics is the study of matter and energy and their interactions from microscopic to macroscopic regimes. It is the most fundamental physical science in the sense that the laws of physics form the foundation of all natural sciences. The undergraduate physics major provides a thorough introduction to the core areas of physics while offering students flexibility to pursue special interests through our academic, astronomy, or general concentrations. The academic concentration is intended for students interested in professional employment or graduate work in physics or closely related fields such as astronomy, engineering, laser technology, or computational science. The astronomy concentration is designed for students who may wish to do graduate work in astronomy or astrophysics. The general concentration is intended for students who wish to apply a substantial knowledge of physics to fields such as secondary education, medicine, law, journalism, business, or any field of their choice.

VolsTeach

Students pursuing a B.S. degree in the Department of Physics and Astronomy are eligible to participate in the University’s VolsTeach program (https://volsteach.utk.edu/), which permits students to simultaneously complete a major in mathematics or science and receive secondary education teaching licensure within the 4-year undergraduate degree program through completion of a VolsTeach minor. For more information about VolsTeach, including advising associated with teaching licensure requirements, contact the Center for Enhancing Education in Mathematics and Science (101 Greve Hall).

Five-Year BS/MS with Physics Minor

Qualified students completing a BS degree from a department of the Tickle College of Engineering or the College of Arts and Sciences may add a physics minor by completing the requirements listed below. Six hours of 400-level courses required for a minor in physics combined with a BS engineering degree may be applied toward a master’s degree (project option or non-thesis option) in physics during a fifth year following the award of the BS. This program is designed for students attending the University of Tennessee for their Master of Science degree because other universities may not accept these courses for graduate credit since they were used to satisfy requirements for an undergraduate program. Significant components of the program are:

• Students must have an overall GPA of 3.4 in required coursework. Conditional admission may be granted after completing the required 100- and 200-level requirements for the minor while full admission is granted after enrolling in the final semester of courses required for all BS and minor course requirements with a minimum overall GPA of 3.4.

• Students must at least be conditionally admitted to the program prior to taking graduate courses for both their minor and master’s degree. All courses taken for graduate credit must be approved by the graduate program director. Students admitted to the program must request permission from the Graduate School to take approved courses for graduate credit.

• Students admitted to the program must also follow the normal procedure for admission to the Graduate School. Admission of students into this program must be approved by the department and the Graduate School. Students will not be eligible for assistantships until they are enrolled as graduate-level students in the Graduate School.