Department of Physics and Astronomy - Minnesota State University Moorhead

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

Department Seminar (Friday, September 16 at 3:00pm in Hagen 325)Academic Year Internships and Research by Elias Holte and Aschalew Chamiso (MSUM)
Internships and research opportunities happen during the academic year as well of the summer. Elias Holte will describe how his research during last academic year led to a summer research experience at MSUM as a Strong Scholar and summarize his work. Aschalew spent Spring 2016 in working in an internship that was a direct result of his successful application for a scholarship from the Minnesota High Tech Association.Department Seminar (Friday, September 23 at 3:00pm in Bridges 167)Getting the LED out: Applied Electronics in the Planetarium by Dana Koczur and Tony Woltman (MSUM)
Two new LED lighting systems were installed in the planetarium over the summer, one of them designed and built by today's speakers. Dana and Tony were both Strong Scholars at MSUM and had funding to apply the electronics they studied in Spring 2016 to a novel and challenging setting, the planetarium. The first half of this seminar will be an explanation and demonstration of their project, with the remaining time devoted to exploring the capabilities of the new projector that was also installed this summer.

Department News

Making a Big Difference: Two of our Alumni, Charles Conduah '06 and Libby Hegge '08, are featured in MSUM's alumni magazine because of their successful careers in Medical Physics. Careers that started because of their experiences at MSUM!
Aquaponics Research at Student Academic Conference: This story from campus news focused on Ben LeMay, an MSUM Senior Physics Major, who presented two projects at the Student Academic Conference. (Posted May 4)
A lifelong Journey: A story on two international students, Tim and Loza, who spent a lot of time with our department and their journey from Ethiopia to Stanford! (Posted May 3)
The Society of Physics Students had their 5th Annual Physics Show on 2pm on Saturday, April 2 and it was a huge success with approximately 100 visitors attending the show. (Posted Apr. 5)

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.