Willamette University - Department of Physics

12/16/2025

Look who made the Willamette University socials!

02/14/2025

New paper. Who dis?

Shout out to Sam, Jared, Anna, Olivia and Maddie on their first scientific publication. It was tons of fun working this one with them and Jed and all off the MEE2024 team!

A discussion of measurements of the gravitational deflection of starlight made during the solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 and of lessons learned for future eclipses.

12/15/2024

Nice write up about the awesome work that Prof. Altman's College Colloquium did this semester! Capped it all off with an awesome visit from Prof. Sabetta Matsumoto to learn about the Physics and Math of knitted materials!

04/23/2024

So our work during the eclipse was covered by the Washington Post and everything, but let's be honest, Prof. Mike Chasar over in the English department is out there answering the truly important questions of our age.

On Friday, Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”

04/22/2024

Not to humble brag, but we made the Washington Post! Great work down in Mexico by Anna Hornbeck, Sam Jeffe, Olivia Schutz ('25), Jared McSorley ('26), and Maddie Strate ('27) on gathering ~1TB of data during April 8th eclipse! Clouds made less than ideal observing conditions, so it'll take a while to crunch it, but we're excited to see what came out!

Professors and students are re-creating one of the most famous astronomical experiments in new detail, trying to prove Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

03/07/2024

In celebration of , we celebrate Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, a Northern Irish astrophysicist who discovered the first radio pulsars. Read more about Dame Jocelyn's story at: https://ow.ly/jY4q50QMPm9

11/29/2023

Congrats to Tara Hickman (Physics '21) on passing her PhD qualifying exam at Vanderbilt! Exciting to see all the cool research that she is going to do on her way to writing her dissertation!

11/17/2023

Congrats to Ella Isaacson (Physics '25) and the rest of the triathlon team on their awesome performance at NCAA nationals!

10/05/2023

Applications are now open for the Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship Fund for full/part-time graduates wishing to study towards a doctorate in physics from groups that are currently under-represented in physics.

This year, the fund has been boosted by a generous legacy gift from former IOP member George Lucy.

Find out more about the fund here: https://www.iop.org/about/news/bell-burnell-scholarship-fund-open-for-2023-24-applications

08/23/2023

Dear WU Physics friends/alumni, We just received the heartbreaking news that Zach Luis' (Physics '21) family lost everything in the Maui fires. Zach has set up this GoFundMe to help his dad and siblings get back on their feet. Please donate if you are able:

Hello friends and family, My name is Zach, and I am starting this fundraiser t… Zachery Luis needs your support for Luis ‘Ohana’s Lahaina Wildfire Relief

08/10/2023

A big WU Physics welcome to Dr. Mike Vignal! Mike got his PhD from just up the road at OSU and brings a broad range of expertise in Physics Education Research and we're excited to have him join us for this academic year!