Physics

The New Mexico Tech Physics Department provides an outstanding education for its undergraduate majors. Our faculty are dedicated to quality teaching and student success. Combine this with Tech's research facilities and it is no surprise that our physics graduates consistently find their way to further research at internationally leading universities and are employed by major corporations and national laboratories.

All of our physics students receive a well-rounded education in both theoretical and experimental methods. Currently there are about 90 undergraduate physics majors, with 30 percent of these being women. Yet class sizes at all levels are kept small, with an overall student/faculty ratio of 7:1. Our physics curriculum includes a major laboratory class every year, providing valuable experience with experimental techniques and instrumentation. Many physics students study mathematics as a second major, or minor in the electrical engineering or computer science programs at Tech.

Tech's physics faculty specialize in astrophysics, atmospheric physics, and plasma physics, and our Physics majors have many opportunities to be involved in research as undergraduate students. Some work with faculty members to successfully co-author published scientific papers. Our students are often employed by one of Tech's many research facilities, including Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, Magdalena Ridge Observatory, Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center, or the Array Operations Center of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory,

Tech physics students have been awarded summer internships at Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, the National Solar Observatory at Sunspot, Arecibo Observatory of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, and at several universities around the nation. Over half of our graduates continue studying physics for advanced degrees at schools such as Stanford, Colorado State, Texas A&M, U. C. Santa Cruz, and the Universities of Arizona, Hawaii, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. In industrial and government research laboratories, our physics bachelor degree graduates command very competitive salaries.

The New Mexico Tech Physics Department strives to maintain a friendly and collegial atmosphere in which faculty and students meet each other informally. There are several open study areas, a project room equipped with tools and small machine shop, and a computer workstation laboratory all dedicated to student use. The department maintains lively social and community activities, including an active chapter of the Society of Physics Students that has received Outstanding Chapter Awards as well as national recognition in the Blake Lilly Prize for physics outreach activities.