Department of Physics and Astronomy - Minnesota State University Moorhead

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

Weekly Seminar (Friday, March 7 at 3pm in Hagen Hall 325)You’re Hired! – Infusing STEM and 21st Century Skills to Improve Students’ Attitudes Towards Engineering
by Kristin Brevik (Logistics and Outreach NDSCS-Fargo)
My physics degree from MSUM prepared me for… graduate school in chemical engineering?!

I'll be talking about how my education in physics prepared my for the struggles, challenges, and amazing experience that is graduate school. I'll also talk about my area of research and how the MSUM physics professors contributed to my drive to research not only important topics, but topics that are very important to me personally.

Department News

Spring Scholarship Opportunities: Every spring, the Department of Physics and Astronomy offers several scholarships to its students. Applications for those scholarships have just opened up. Check out all the scholarships offered here. (February 24, 2014)
A Stellar Night (Story featured on MSUM homepage): Professor Juan Cabanela and Physics majors Nathan Heidt, Laura Herzog, Michael Meraz, and Beau Scheving, made a trek to the Paul P. Feder Observatory in an attempt to capture images of a day-old supernova. They succeeded (full image here)! (Full Story) (February 24, 2014)
Making Strides (Story featured on MSUM homepage): Half a world away, a young Iwnetim (Tim) Abate dreamed of a world free from global warming. Years later, Abate is taking part in making his dream a reality. The junior physics major at MSUM is making strides in the field of physics and engineering. Abate, an international student from Ethiopia, is already making a name for himself, scoring prestigious internships and winning major awards in his field. (Full Story) (February 19, 2014)

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.