Greetings from the JSU Department of Physics, Atmospheric Sciences and Geosciences! We are committed to providing the faculty, facilities, instruction, services and equipment necessary for our students to achieve their educational goals.

 

It is a very exciting time to major in Physics, Meteorology or Earth Systems Science at JSU. Our theme for the 2009-2010 Academic Year is Raising the Bar of Excellence.

 

Our Department has taken on the big challenge of becoming the definitive source of African Americans who hold B.S. degrees in geosciences for the country. Did you know that JSU is the only Historically Black College or University presently offering a degree in Earth Systems Science? Our atmospheric sciences program has produced about 1 out of every 4 African Americans who hold bachelor degrees in meteorology for the nation. A number of our meteorology graduates have taken highly visible positions on television with The Weather Channel, WLBT and WJTV. You should also note that many of our majors have continued their graduate studies and received degrees from major nationally ranked universities like MIT, Purdue, Georgia Tech, Howard Univ., Cornell, University of Michigan and the University of Oklahoma, to name a few.

 

We are actively seeking bright, talented, and most importantly, dedicated students to develop into tomorrow's researchers, science teachers, corporate managers and high-tech entrepreneurs (with our management concentration), medical doctors (with our pre-med concentration) and engineers (with our applied physics concentration). The faculty members have a wide range of expertise and experience which covers the areas of Nanotechnology, Materials Science, Optics and Photonics, Meteorological Observations, Modeling and Forecast, Computational Sciences, Renewable Energy, Earth and Space Science and Science Education.

 

Research

Research in the Department of Physics, Atmospheric Sciences and Geoscience at Jackson State University encompasses many areas, including Materials, Nanoscience and Technology, Optics, Photonics and Nanoscience, High Energy Physics, Mathematical Physics, Atomic and Chemical Physics, Astronomy, Theoretical Astrophysics, Theoretical and Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, Theory of Atomic Clusters, Computational Physics, Statistical Physics, Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Finite Systems, Hyperfine Interactions, and dynamic exchange effects between solids and ion probes. The Meteorology Program has a broad interdisciplinary focus encompassing Weather Modification and Control, Air Pollution, Aviation, Climatology, Tropical Weather, Mesoscale Meteorology, Satellite Communication and Computer Applications. The Earth Systems Science program covers geology, hydrology and climate change.

 

If you find yourself curious about these majors and wondering if you possibly have what it takes, please contact me. I will personally give you some straight talk about these wonderful areas of study. Did you know that most students are afraid of physics because they were not properly exposed to the subject? Is this you?

 

Feel free to contact me at any time to de-mystify these areas and find how fun and rewarding these fields really can be. Come join the fun and become a mighty Tiger of JSU! I look forward to seeing you in the Fall.

 

Quinton L. Williams, Ph.D. Chair and Professor of Physics