Quick Facts
Did You Know...
► There are about 100 undergraduate majors in the Physics Department, with 16 full time faculty members.
► 70% of physics undergraduates engage in research before graduation, and 15-20% of those are co-authors on research papers.
Access to Advising
Miami University's retention rate of 89% ranks it among the best in the nation for students returning for their sophomore year. A major in the physics department is assigned an adviser in their first year who will remain their adviser throughout their undergraduate education. View current advisors »
Student Activities
Miami University has an active chapter of the Society of Physics Students. Regular activities include weekly meetings, outreach, field trips, and fun, with two annual picnics and monthly pizza and movie nights.
Astronomy Club
The Miami University Astronomy Club meets regularly during the academic year. With a Questar, several other telescopes, and a remote observatory, students can observe in all types of weather.
Undergraduate Research
Undergraduates have the opportunity to conduct research beginning in the first year. Undergraduate and graduate students often work side by side to achieve their research goals. View current research groups »
Presentation experiences
Undergraduates in physics have the opportunity to present research findings at national meetings. Pictured are Perry Rice and his student, Ethan Stanifer, at the Frontiers in Optics conference in Orlando, FL.
Announcements and News
2019-20 Awards Presentation
This year's annual outstanding award winners, commendations in undergraduate research, and appointed 2020-21 student representatives were revealed remotely.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Faculty Tenure and Promotions
Congratulations to Dr. Karthik Vishwanath and Dr. Mahmud Khan on being advanced to Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor!
Register for 2019-20 Summer Term
Physics courses are being offered remotely for 2019-20 summer term
Dr. Samir Bali's Lab Featured in Miami Matters
SQuinT 2020
Earlier this month five of our students traveled to the 22nd Annual SQuInT Workshop, Feb 8-10, 2020 in Eugene, OR. Graduate students Alex Staron, Denuwan Vithanage, and Kefeng (Kevin) Jiang, as well as undergraduate students Jianqiao (Thomas) Li and Linzhao (Lucy) Zhuo, all presented posters of their research with Drs. E. Carlo Samson and Samir Bali. In addition, a Miami Alumnus, Ka Wa Yip (MS ’15), presented a poster on his current work as a PhD student at the Univ. of Southern California.
SQuInT (Southwest Quantum Information and Technology) is a highly prestigious workshop on quantum information. Besides some speakers who are invited from around the nation, the rest of the participants are drawn from about 25 distinguished member institutions in academia and industry. There were just over 100 poster presenters this year, comprising mostly of graduate and postdoctoral students from SQuInT member research universities (Stanford, Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Caltech, Maryland, UT Austin, Univ. S. California, and Arizona), national labs (NIST, Sandia, NASA Ames, and LANL), and research labs in industry (Google, IBM, Microsoft, Northrup Grumman, ColdQuanta, and IonQ). Miami is just one of five primarily undergraduate / MS institutions invited, the other four being CalPoly-San Luis, Harvey Mudd, Chapman University, and Carleton College.
Four Physics Faculty Members Selected for Faculty Research Award
The Office of Research and Innovation is pleased to announce four physics faculty members have been selected for the 2019-2020 Faculty Research Awards! The award categories are Summer Research Appointment (SRA), Research Graduate Assistantships (RGA), and Grant to Promote Research (GPR). This year the committee received a total of 57 proposals and is able to fund (at least in part) 25.
Faculty Members:
Mithun Bhowmick (Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Middletown)—Summer Research Appointment
Mahmud Khan (Physics, Oxford)—Grant to Promote Research
Imran Mirza (Physics, Oxford)—Summer Research Appointment, Grant to Promote Research
Carlo Samson (Physics, Oxford)—Summer Research Appointment, Research Graduate Assistantship, and Grant to Promote Research
Congratulations!
One Student's Journey Leads Her to the Peace Corps
2019 Distinguished Chapter Award
The Society of Physics Students National Council reviewed all chapter reports and has awarded the Miami University SPS Chapter as a 2019 Distinguished Chapter!
2019-20 Officers:
President—Rosie Ries
Vice President—Andy Rodriguez
Secretary—Casey Scoggins
Treasurer—Jack Holt
Faculty Advisor—Dr. Christopher Beer
Congratulations on your achievement!
Top 3 Poster Presentation Award
Over 140 graduate students submitted and presented their work at the 2019 Graduate Research Forum, held on November 1st, here at Miami University.
Md Sakhawat Hossain Himel (advisor Dr. Mahmud Khan), received a $300 presentation award for being one of the top three posters, which may be used to cover travel expenses to professional conferences, research expenses, and other professional expenses.
Congratulations, Himel!
Brunner PROfile - The Physics of Marketing
Alumnus Matthew Walentosky (MS '16, advisor Stephen Alexander) has applied physics in a direction that wouldn't occur to most students.
Click here to see where his physics education has taken him.
Winning OS/APS Undergraduate Poster Award
We had a strong showing at the OS/APS meeting in Flint Michigan last week. Again, one of our students won the best poster award! Undergraduate Brandon Reese won the presentation with a poster titled, "Observation of Two Superconducting Phase Transitions in NbNi_{2-x}Cu_{x}Sn Heusler Alloys". The OS/APS undergraduate poster award includes a certificate and cash in the form of a brand new crisp $100 bill. Congratulations on an excellent presentation!
Research Presentations at FiO/LS
Physics MS students Bibandhan Poudyal, Jet Sethi, Alex Staron, and undergraduate Thomas Li (BS 2020), along with NSF-REU 2019 students Menaka Kumar (North Carolina State Univ, BS 2021) and Quincy Webb (Smith College, MA, BS 2020), presented their research at FiO/LS 2019 in Washington DC, Sep 15-19. Alex gave a talk while each of the other students presented posters.
Frontiers in Optics / Laser Science is the flagship annual conference of the Optical Society of America and the Division of Laser Science of the American Physical Society.
Bibandhan, Jet, and Quincy are in Professor Imran Mirza's research group. Alex, Thomas, and Menaka did their research in Professor Samir Bali's lab.
Astronaut Scholarship Awarded to Rosie Ries
Congratulations to Rosie Ries, physics and geology double major, as a recipient of the Astronaut Scholarship for the 2019-20 academic year!
The Astronaut Scholarship is among the most significant merit-based monetary scholarships awarded to undergraduate STEM juniors and seniors who intend to pursue research or advance their field upon completion of their final degree.
A member of the Astronaut Hall of Fame visited Miami Oct. 2 to give a public lecture and recognize Ries and Ollier.
Rachel Ollier and Rosie Ries awarded Astronaut Scholarships»
Noyce Scholarship for Future Teachers
Miami University’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program seeks to encourage talented science, engineering, and mathematics majors and professionals to become secondary mathematics and science teachers.