Department of Physics & Astronomy
Welcome!
Physics and Astronomy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is where fascination meets function. We explore the deep questions of the universe and provide the scientific foundation for discovery that yields the technologies in your pocket, and those of tomorrow.
Our department is driven by an engaged faculty pursuing fundamental research and eager to develop the next generation of scientists.
Our physicists helped put our state on the periodic table, study multi-messenger astronomy and explosive stellar events, and search for new physics at CERN. They describe the properties of nuclei and neutrons and test the limits of superconductivity with new models and novel materials. They merge physics and biology at the cellular level with lab-on-a-chip devices. They’re building an interdisciplinary approach to lead transformative research on quantum materials and devices, information science, and artificial intelligence.
Our students have a breadth of research opportunities on campus, at nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and at facilities all over the world to set them on the path to promising careers.
Colloquium Schedule
Spring Break 2025: No Colloquium
March 17, 2025
The Science of FRIB: From the Nuclear Many-Body Challenge to the Origin of the Elements in the Universe
March 24, 2025
Speaker: Alexandra Gade, FRIB
Host: Robert Grzywacz
Abstract
There are approximately 300 stable and 3,000 known unstable (rare) isotopes. Estimates are that over 7,000 different isotopes are bound by the nuclear force. It is now recognized that the properties of many yet undiscovered rare isotopes hold the key to understanding how to develop a comprehensive and predictive model of atomic nuclei, to accurately model a variety of astrophysical environments, and to understand the origin and history of elements in the Universe. Some of these isotopes also offer the possibility to study nature’s underlying fundamental symmetries and to explore new societal applications of rare isotopes. This presentation will give a glimpse of the opportunities that arise at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) that started operations at Michigan State University in 2022.
Fundamental Physics Studies in Time Domain and Multi-Messenger Astronomy
March 31, 2025
Speaker: Chris Fryer, LANL
Host: Raph Hix
Abstract
TBA
