Department News

 Article by physics Professor Alan Bristow

WVU professor Duncan Lorimer, along with an international team of astronomers, have used a triple star system consisting of a neutron star and two white dwarfs to test Einstein's age-old theory of gravity, general relativity. Read the full article here:

Yet again, Einstein's theory passes the test with flying colors

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— The Department of Physics and Astronomy at West Virginia University is ranked no. 100 in the U.S. News & World Report’s latest rankings of graduate programs.

A dozen scientists gather each afternoon on Albuquerque’s Kirtland Air Force Base, in Sandia National Laboratories, awaiting the bright flash and unmistakable floor jolt that accompanies the daily lightning bolt known as a Z shot. WVU physics professor Mark Koepke, his postdoc, and his students take advantage of approximately twenty Z shots per year to feed their passion for studying the physical principles that govern extreme astrophysical environments through the laboratory study of high-energy-density physics. 

This year, Prof. Ned Flagg of the Physics department has been awarded with the Eberly College Outstanding Teachers Award. See the official announcement by following this link.