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Faculty and Staff

Physics and Astronomy

  • Phone: (507) 222-4383
  • Fax: (507) 222-4384

Faculty

Marty Baylor
Marty Baylor
Assistant Professor of Physics
Off Campus: Fall 2013 through Spring 2014
Phone: x4149

Marty is an experimental physicist with interests in optical signal processing and integrated optofluidic devices.

Picture of Cindy
Cindy Blaha
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Marjorie Crabb Garbisch Professor of the Liberal Arts
Phone: x4429

Cindy is an astrophysicist interested in the optical and radio properties of star formation and evolution in the disks and nuclei of spiral galaxies.


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Nelson Christensen
Professor of Physics
Off Campus: Spring 2013
Phone: x5932

Nelson is an experimental physicist with current interests in quantum chaos, medical imaging, and gravitational radiation.

Nelson's Webpage


Melissa Eblen-Zayas
Melissa Eblen-Zayas
Associate Professor of Physics
Chair of Physics and Astronomy
Phone: x7838

Melissa is an experimental condensed matter physicist whose interests lie in studying the electronic and magnetic properties of materials.

Melissa's Web Page

Dwight Luhman
Dwight Luhman
Assistant Professor of Physics
Off Campus: Spring 2013 through Spring 2014

Dwight is an experimental physicist with an interest in condensed matter systems at very low temperatures. His research focuses on the properties of superfluid liquid helium and low-dimensional electron systems.

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Arjendu Pattanayak
Associate Dean of the College
Professor of Physics
Off Campus: Fall 2013 through Spring 2014
Phone: x4300

Arjendu is a theorist studying chaos and quantum chaos, particularly issues in decoherence and entropy dynamics. He is deeply interested in the integration of research with education.


Arjendu's Webpage

Jay Tasson
Jay Tasson
Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics
Phone: x4418

Jay is a theoretical physicist interested in fundamental symmetries.  His current work focuses on Lorentz symmetry in gravitational physics.

Jay's webpage.

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Bill Titus
Professor of Physics
Phone: x4386
Bill is a theoretician interested in computer modeling, problems in statistical mechanics, solid state and low temperature physics.
Joel Weisberg
Joel Weisberg
Herman and Gertrude Mosier Stark Professor of Physics and Astronomy and the Natural Sciences
Phone: x4367

Joel is a radio astronomer who studies pulsars, gravity waves, and the interstellar medium at the Arecibo, Green Bank, and Very Large Array radio telescopes. He also has strong interests in science policy, and frequently teaches in the Environmental and Technology Studies Program.


Joel's Website

Kassie Martin-Wells ’07
Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics
Phone: x7803
Matt Wiebold
Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics
Phone: x4381

Emeriti Faculty

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Rich Noer
Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of the Natural Sciences, Emeritus
Phone: x4383

An experimental solid state physicist, Rich conducts research on electron field emission and the application of superconductivity to particle accelerators. He is also interested in the history and philosophy of science.

Rich's Webpage

Robert Reitz
Professor of Physics, Emeritus
Phone: x4383
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Bruce Thomas
Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of the Natural Sciences, Emeritus
Phone: x4383
Bruce bridges the gap between the theoretical and experimental sides of physics. While his graduate work was in high energy theory, Bruce now finds himself involved in electronic instrumentation and computers. His main research interests are atomic and molecular physics and laser spectroscopy.

Staff

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Thomas Baraniak
Electronics & Laboratory Manager in Physics & Astronomy
Instrumentation Electronics Specialist for the Sciences
Phone: x4033


Tom has worked on the Hubble Space Telescope and writes for Circuit Cellar Magazine about cool sensors he develops for robots, spacecraft, and home automation. Tom is interested in integrating and broadening the sciences and science education.

Tom's Webpage

John Weiss
John Weiss ’99
Research Associate
Phone: x4383

John Weiss is a planetary scientist who studies orbital mechanics and photometry, particularly Saturn's rings, through a combination of numerical simulations of the dynamics, ray-tracing, and analysis of spacecraft data. He collaborates heavily with the Cassini Imaging Team and is occasionally convinced to apply his studies to Enceladus' strange plumes.

Marie-Anne Bizouard
Research Associate
Phone: x4387
Bruce Duffy
Bruce Duffy
Technical Assistant in Physics and Astronomy
Phone: x7078
Mark Zach
Mark Zach
Instrument Project Manager
Phone: x4373
Ben Cerjan ’12
Educational Associate for Physics and Astronomy
Phone: x4383
Trenne Fields
Administrative Assistant in Physics and Astronomy
Phone: x4383