Physics Facilities

Community Room / Collaborative Work Space
When not in use for physics courses, the introductory physics lab serves as a collaborative work space and physics community room, where:

• Students meet to work together on labs, homework assignments and special projects
• Formal evening tutoring sessions are conducted
• Work stations with software for data acquisition and analysis (e.g. LabVIEW, DataStudio, MATLAB, Mathematica) are available for use

Specialty Physics Labs
In addition to the introductory physics lab, the department has several dedicated labs for advanced physics courses and research. These specialty labs have their own equipment, dedicated computers, data acquisition systems and specialized analysis software programs.

Engineering Lab
The newly completed (January 2009) engineering lab has been designed from the ground up to serve our 3-2 engineering students. It is state-of-the-art in equipment, instructional methods, and practices.
Dedicated Equipment and Software
The department has extensive equipment holdings in support of advanced and introductory lab courses, lecture demonstrations, and faculty-led student research. Computers, software, and lab instruments are all routinely upgraded to ensure students acquire the lab skills they will need after graduation.

Machine Shop
A machine shop with milling machine, lathe, drill press, belt sander, grinder and a variety of hardware and hand tools is used by faculty and students to manufacture custom experimental apparatus and repair equipment.

Departmental Library
The departmental library, consisting of over 400 text and reference books of both historical and current interest, back issues of several physics periodicals (e.g., American Journal of Physics, Physics Today, The Physics Teacher, etc.), and many audiovisual resources, is housed in one of the physics labs. This small but convenient library is always available to all students and faculty in physics.