The Departmental of Physics curriculum combines fundamental physics courses with hands-on laboratory training and research projects.

We have a dedicated faculty and staff that support such student participation with state-of-the-art research laboratories, observatories and other educational programs that will enhance the students' future professional prospects.

The flexibility of the curriculum permits interdisciplinary exploration, not only among the physics and astronomy disciplines, but also the other STEM fields such as biology, chemistry, geology, environmental sciences, mathematics and computer science.

We expect our curriculum to result in physics graduates who are capable of applying and adapting their undergraduate education in a variety of scientific, teaching or engineering professions, as well as future educational endeavors.

News

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm late in the evening of Sept. 26, 2024. The storm reached the Southern Appalachians on Sept. 27, 2024, causing widespread flooding, landslides, downed trees and power outages. Image courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere

What made Hurricane Helene a historic storm?

BOONE, N.C. — In September 2024, Hurricane Helene brought record-breaking rain and wind to the High Country, leaving a lasting impact across the reg...

Dr. Roshani Silwal is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University.

Dr. Roshani Silwal authors four papers

BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Roshani Silwal, assistant professor in the Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy, is the lead author of...

Isaac Critcher

Isaac Critcher receives staff shout out

A colleague in the Department of Computer Science wrote about Critcher, "He is a brilliant engineer; he designs, draws, and builds great things. He is...

Dr. Zachary Russell, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at App State, center, works with student researchers Ethan Humphries, a senior physics major from Kings Mountain, and Hunter Corman ’24, an engineering physics graduate student from Morehead City, pictured in the background, in the Ion Innovations Scientific Instrumentation Development Lab in Boone to assemble 3D-printed components for rapid prototyping of microscope designs. Russell has been awarded a $2.3 million grant fro

Tracking parasites in farm animals is tricky. AI microscope developed in NC may help. [faculty featured]

Artificial intelligence is being integrated into phones, search engines, and recently, microscopes. At Appalachian State University, researchers were ...

Zachary Russell, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University (center), works with student researchers Ethan Humphries and Hunter Corman in the Ion Innovations Scientific Instrumentation Development Lab in Boone. Image courtesy of Appalachian State

App State researcher develops AI-driven microscope to detect poultry parasites [faculty featured]

Researcher Zach Russell recently earned a grant from NCInnovation to develop his lab’s AI-driven robotic microscope....