Physics and Astronomy | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | 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

Daily Iowan: UI professor receives $300,000 grant for research with international students

Friday, September 13, 2024

Wayne Polyzou, a professor in the physics and astronomy department at the University of Iowa, has received a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to do work overseas in Poland and Ukraine.

NASA Funds Student-Led Rocket Mission

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

The University of Iowa has received nearly $1.7 million from NASA to fund the OCHRE student-led sounding rocket mission that will study cusp dynamics in the Earth’s magnetosphere and help train the next generation of space physicists and instrumentalists.

UI Researchers Funded for POEMMA-Balloon with Radio Mission

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

A group of researchers in the Department of Physics and Astronomy has received $470,310 in funding from the NASA Astrophysics Research and Analysis (APRA) Program to collaborate on the POEMMA-Balloon with Radio (PBR) mission.

Upcoming Events

EES Geoscience Seminar Series: Dr. Kayla Iacovino (Jacobs/NASA Johnson Space Center) - "Lava in the time of Carbon: Explosive volcanism on Mercury"

Friday, September 13, 2024 3:30pm to 5:00pm

Trowbridge Hall

Lava in the time of Carbon: Explosive volcanism on Mercury Kayla Iacovino, Jacobs/NASA Johnson Space Center The planet Mercury is a fascinating example of what happens when a rocky planet gets geochemically weird. About 15% of Mercury’s surface is made up of “low reflectance material” terrane, possibly exposed portions of a primordial graphite flotation crust formed during differentiation. Pyroclastic volcanism was common on Mercury, with >150 likely pyroclastic deposits identified from orbit...