Observatory
Our robotic observatory is equipped with a 17-inch PlaneWave telescope on a German equatorial mount. We use the facility for both education and research.
Department of Physics
Welcome to the Physics Department
The Physics Department at the University of St. Thomas emphasizes a broad understanding and appreciation of physics while cultivating the problem-solving skills essential for a successful career grounded in science.
We provide a high degree of personal attention to foster a familial, yet rigorous, educational atmosphere conducive to enjoyable and meaningful learning. Your analytical, experimental, computational and communication skills will flourish as you work your way through the curriculum. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with faculty on research projects during the school year and over the summer.
Whether you are preparing for graduate school, an industrial or professional position, or simply taking physics to enhance your general education, we have a path for you.
A Physics Degree to Match Your Goals
The Physics Department has three degree offerings that build on a common core of courses, but with significant differences between them. We design our four-year plans for students with different mathematical backgrounds. Your own path will depend on your math placement.
Hands-on and Student-Focused
Research
Our goal is to produce students who are ready to take on complex and exciting problems after graduation.
Our laboratories are well equipped with research-grade instrumentation, electronics equipment and computer hardware. Students run our observatory, design and build apparatus, conduct experiments, create computer simulations, develop analytical theories and analyze data. They also present their results at conferences and co-author journal articles with faculty. Support comes from a variety of sources, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, local industry and the University of St. Thomas.
Areas of faculty and student research include:
- Astrophysics
- Optics
- Computation
- Complexity and Emergence
- Musical Acoustics
- Non-linear Dynamics and Chaos
- Curriculum Development
Facilities
Our facilities include our offices in Owens Science Hall, three classrooms, seven laboratories, a student machine shop, computer room, a commons study area and the observatory on top of the Anderson Parking Facility.
More Information
Laboratories and Machine Shop
Our research laboratories and machine shop are equipped with a range of instrumentation, electronics equipment, CNC machinery and computer hardware.
Classroom and Study Spaces
Our space includes three classrooms, a computer room, teaching laboratories, the observatory and a commons study area. Beakers Coffee Shop is nearby, on the second floor.
Alumni
Our graduates are successful. Many have earned PhDs at prominent institutions and have won prestigious Goldwater Scholarships and national fellowships. Others are working in engineering firms and high-tech companies such as 3M, Medtronic, Honeywell and Google; and in government agencies and national laboratories. Additionally, former students are teachers, doctors, medical physicists and attorneys.
Lexi Serreyn
Light is a beautiful thing, and Lexi Serreyn '22 is making it her future. A physics and electrical engineering double major, Serreyn took a job with Medtronic after graduation, ready to turn her love and knowledge of light into something much more.
Discover more about Lexi
Gabriel Bauer
Gabriel Bauer '22, a double major in physics and international economics along with a minor in French, somehow also found the time to serve as the St. Thomas Orchestra’s principal violinist. He plans to pursue a law degree this fall.
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Ben Frey
Pursuing a second major is a feat all by itself, but for Ben Frey '22, it wasn’t enough to stop at two. Frey began his career at St. Thomas as an entrepreneurship major and finished as a triple major, with physics and computer science joining the fray. Up next, he's pursuing a graduate physics degree at Stanford University.
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Sarah Millholland
The stars and the way Earth fits into the universe’s bigger picture intrigue many people. It’s pretty rare, though, for someone to be on the cutting edge of finding the planets that fill out that picture. That’s exactly what Sarah Millholland ’15 started at St. Thomas and now continues at Yale University.
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Greg Ogin
Greg Ogin '04 is one seriously smart Tommie. Need evidence? When talking with him about his life and career path, terms such as “quantum optics,” “coefficient of expansion” and “computational simulations of the neural cortex” get sprinkled in because, well, that’s just the kind of stuff he does.
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Jill Schleicher
As Mount Kilauea continues to spew lava across Hawaii's big island, observers around the world are being reminded of the terrible destructive power volcanoes possess. For Shoreview, Minn., native Jill Schleicher '11, the past six years of her life have been dedicated to understanding that power.
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Physics Faculty and Staff
Contact Information
Questions? Please feel free to reach out to learn more about our department.
Tel: (651) 962-5213
Email:mlpuerto@stthomas.edu
Mailing Address
2115 Summit Ave.
OWS 153
Saint Paul, MN 55105
Campus Location
We are located on the first floor of Owens Science Hall