Department News

West Virginia University physicists are helping NASA measure light from distant stars and involving local high school science teachers in the process.

The spacecraft constellation will make the first global measurements of the coupling between the magnetosphere and the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The results will help detect and predict extreme conditions in space that can impact society and future exploration.

WVU Physics and Astronomy students, Jacob Huggins and Zhi Gu Li, placed first and second place in the annual Integration Bee, held on April 6, 2022. 

Scott Cushing, assistant professor of chemistry at Caltech has been named a 2022 Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA).  

West Virginia University recently announced the President's List (4.0 GPA) and Dean's list (3.5-3.9999 GPA) for the 2021 fall semester.  An impressive 24 physics/astro majors made the lists.  The names of those students are shared below.  Please take a moment to congratulate them for their achievement! 

Congratulations to Professor Aldo Romero on being named an Eberly Family Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy in recognition of his many contributions to advancing our department's mission.

Within the Department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University, PHASMA, a complex, one-of-its-kind-in-the-world experiment composed of vacuum pumps, electromagnets and lab-created plasma is revealing new details about how the Universe functions.

 Event is August 11, 2021, at West Virginia University

 West Virginia University physicists are uncovering secrets of the sun’s turbulent surface in the lab.

 Dr. Julia E. Stawarz will speak on "Exploring the Relationship Between Turbulence and Electron-Only Reconnection with Magnetospheric Multiscale."