Department of Physics and Astronomy - Minnesota State University Moorhead

Department of Physics and Astronomy
College of Health, Science, & the Environment

Department SeminarA Physicist’s Journey to a Career in Software Engineering<
by Wyatt Davis (DISTek Integration Inc.)

Friday, January 25 at 3:00 pm in Hagen 325
Ninety five percent of U.S. physics Bachelor’s recipients and 90% of physics Master’s recipients who enter the private sector do not have physicist/astronomer in their job title. Most physics degree recipients, like myself, enter into engineering, IT, other STEM, or non-STEM jobs. In May of 2018 I received my Master’s in physics from NDSU. Within a couple of weeks of graduating I had accepted an offer from DISTek Integration Inc. to work on embedded enterprise reuse software for John Deere. Stick around to the end of this presentation and you’ll learn a bit about my computational physics research background, my current engineering role, and some (hopefully) useful advice for those looking to pursue private sector careers with a physics degree in hand.Modeling Electrostatic Double-Layer Capacitors
by Sylvio May (NDSU)

Friday, February 1 at 3:00 pm in Hagen 325
This talk is about fancy capacitors that are formed by inserting a charged electrode into an electrolyte. The resulting electric double layer has a capacitance that reflects both chemical and physical properties of the system. Focusing on the physical properties I'll address a few questions such as: In what way is an electric double layer different from the layer of gas that forms the atmosphere of Earth? How to develop a theoretical model for an electric double layer? What kind of mathematics is needed? Why is it so much more difficult (and interesting) to model concentrated as compared to dilute electrolytes? My goal is to provide a basic and accessible introduction to mean-field modeling methods with something interesting for every attendant of this physics seminar.

Department News

Get Rewarded for Demonstrating your Demo!: The Department is offering five $100 awards for our first Physics Demo Descriptor Competition. See the scholarship page for details, applications due 5pm on February 4, 2019
Society of Physics Students wins national award: The Society of Physics Students (SPS) has been once again recognized by the SPS National Council for their quality and quantity of activities they do with the wider community. The SPS National Council awarded the Minnesota State University Moorhead SPS Chapter a 2017-18 Distinguished Chapter. This is the sixth consecutive year that the MSUM SPS Chapter has been recognized with a Distinguished or Outstanding chapter award. (Dec. 11)
Sherry Fieber-Beyer '03 awarded Distinguished Alumni Award: Physics and Astronomy alum Dr. Sherry Fieber-Beyer is currently "a research assistant professor at the University of North Dakota, [and] has devoted herself to teaching graduate students the art of scientific space research. She is the sole female faculty member in the department. Beyer also currently acts as the Space Studies Alumni Coordinator and has assisted in the establishment of their alumni website and many alumni events and communication." (June 25).

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide excellent undergraduate instruction in physics and astronomy. In lower division courses, faculty use lecture demonstrations, cooperative learning methods, hands-on activities, and field trips to develop a broad working knowledge of physics. In upper division courses, in addition to the above methods, students learn through cooperative projects, research with faculty, and hands-on instrumentation and computation projects.

About the Department of Physics and Astronomy

The MSUM Physics and Astronomy program is a student-centered program. We provide students with educational opportunities in the classroom and outside it in order to improve their preparation for a career using physics.

We have facilities including a nanotechnology and robotics lab, a student-built NMR machine, and the Paul P. Feder observatory.

Our faculty have high quality research programs in space physics, robotics, extragalactic, galactic, and solar system astrophysics, and physics education. Our undergraduate students participate in these research programs and gain experience to prepare them for careers in physics and related fields.

Contact Information
Office: Hagen Hall 307
Phone: (218) 477-2141
Email: lindellj@mnstate.edu

Send ground mail to:
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Minnesota State University Moorhead
1104 7th Avenue South, Hagen Hall 307
Moorhead, MN 56563

An interactive campus map of Minnesota State University Moorhead is available to find Hagen Hall.