Graduate-Level Research Opportunities
The Department of Physics has cutting-edge research groups in a variety of fields. Our particle physics experimentalists participate in international collaborations for experiments at the CERN, Brookhaven, Fermilab, IHEP (Beijing), and Jefferson Lab. Condensed matter research in the department ranges from studies of nanocrystals and semiconductors to biological physics and wetting phenomena. Our faculty spearhead research with neutrons at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LAB, and at synchrotron x-ray facilities such as Argonne's Advanced Photon Source. Our astrophysics group carries out both theoretical work, for example developing innovative high-resolution and large-volume simulations to study how galaxies and supermassive black holes form and evolve, and observational work with facilities such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) and Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. We have strong theoretical groups in high energy and medium energy particle physics, astrophysics, quantum theory, statistical mechanics, condensed matter and biological physics. Both theoretical and experimental efforts are supported by outstanding computational facilities, including the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center.