Physics and Astronomy | The University of Iowa

Credit/Provider:

Tim Schoon - Staff Photographer - The University of Iowa

Research at the cutting edge

From dark matter to space probes to qubits.

GE CLAS Core: Natural Sciences

Learn more about how our programs can satisfy the General Education CLAS Core requirement in Natural Sciences.

GE CLAS Core: Natural Sciences

Dr. James A. Van Allen in his office on the campus of the University of Iowa.

James Van Allen

Learn more about the "Father of Space Science".

James Van Allen

Graduate student Josh Larson with the plasma tube he built.

Research

Our department includes over 20 research faculty, as well as twenty research staff, working at the forefront of their respective subdisciplines.

Research

Outreach and Public Engagement

News and Announcements

Radio Iowa: Kurth Thrilled NASA Regains Link with Voyager

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Dr. Bill Kurth, a research scientist in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Iowa is delighted NASA engineers were able to reestablish communication with the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which has flown further into space than any human-made object.

2024 Awards Colloquium Held April 23

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

The Department of Physics and Astronomy honored several students, faculty, and staff for their achievements on April 23 at the 2024 Awards Colloquium.

Choate Receives Visiting Scholar Award to Work at Fermilab

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Graduate Student Sarah Choate has been awarded $12,000 from the Universities Research Association's (URA) Visiting Scholars Program (VSP) to support work on “Study of the Neutrino Magnetic Moment with the NOvA Near Detector.”

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

The DEI committee from the Department of Physics and Astronomy produced this video for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated worldwide on Feb. 11. Check out what women in our department are doing!

Upcoming Events

Kent Ornithology Collection: Learning All About Birds

Thursday, April 25, 2024 1:00pm

Virtual

Discover delight from this collection of over 250 books about birds at the Sciences Library. Come in person to the Sciences Library or register for Zoom.