|
The Office of the Chairman Dr. Kenneth Kelton  Welcome to the Department of Physics
of Washington University in St. Louis. By following the links above you will find descriptions of the
courses we teach, including detailed syllabi in many cases, as well as
web pages for all the departmental research groups. For instance, you
will be able to learn about research we are conducting on novel states
of matter such as quasicrystals, superconductors at superhigh pressure,
neutron-star matter, and the quark-gluon plasma. You will also find information
regarding the physics of biological systems, such as the human heart "seen" in
ultrasound, the human lung imaged using spin-aligned Helium-3, and the
visual systems of living creatures. If you find space science interesting,
you will enjoy learning about decoded signals from the universe, detected
in forms ranging from x-rays and gamma rays, to atomic nuclei, to ancient
stardust grains extracted from meteorites, to gravitational waves from
colliding neutron stars. And I'm sure you will be fascinated by our theoretical
studies of complex systems, from the QCD vacuum to color superconductors,
from glassy materials to proteins, from neurons to brains.We also include information on how to earn a degree in physics, whether it's a Bachelor's or a Ph.D., as well as information about our excellent facilities and our superb staff. We are especially proud of the Pfeiffer Physics Library, our splendid machine shop, the parallel supercomputer center, and the revolutionary NANOSIMS ion probe. There's much more than I can possibly describe in this welcoming address so I will direct your attention to the general category links at the top of this page. Enjoy your time with us! Ken Kelton
Chair |
Introduction