Physics and Astronomy

Return to: Areas of Study

The Department of Physics and Astronomy provides facilities for students intending to proceed to the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees.

Enquiries: 905 525-9140 Ext. 24558
Fax: 905 546-1252
E-mail: physics@mcmaster.ca
Website: http://www.physics.mcmaster.ca

Faculty / Fall 2014

Distinguished University Professor

Jules P. Carbotte, B.Sc. (Manitoba), M.Sc., Ph.D. (McGill), F.R.S.C. / Emeritus

Professors

Clifford Burgess, B.Sc. (Waterloo), Ph.D. (Texas)
Alan Chen, B.Sc. (Toronto), M.Sc., Ph.D. (Yale)
Hugh M. Couchman, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. (Cambridge)
Kari Dalnoki-Veress, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D. (Guelph)
Bruce D. Gaulin, B.Sc. (McGill), Ph.D. (McMaster)
Harold Haugen, B.Sc. (Acadia), M.Eng. (McMaster), Ph.D. (Aarhus)/ Joint appointment with Engineering Physics
Paul Higgs, B.A., Ph.D. (Cambridge) / Joint appointment with Biochemistry
Takashi Imai, B.Sc., Ph.D. (Tokyo)
Catherine Kallin, B.Sc. (British Columbia), A.M., Ph.D. (Harvard)
Graeme M. Luke, B.Sc. (Queen’s), Ph.D. (British Columbia)
Ralph E. Pudritz, B.Sc. (British Columbia), M.Sc. (Toronto), Ph.D.(British Columbia)
An-Chang Shi, B.Sc. (Fudan), M.Sc., Ph.D. (Illinois)
Alison Sills, B.Sc. (Western), Ph.D. (Yale) / Associate Chair and Graduate Advisor
Erik Sorensen, B.Sc., M.Sc. (Aarhus), Ph.D. (U.C. Santa Cruz)
David E. Venus, B.Sc. (Queen’s), Ph.D. (Toronto) / Chair
James Wadsley, B.Sc. (Monash), Ph.D. (Toronto)
Douglas L. Welch, M.Sc., Ph.D. (Toronto)
Christine D. Wilson, B.Sc. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Caltech)

Associate Professors

Cecile Fradin, B.Sc., Ph.D. (Paris) / Joint appointment with Biochemistry
Sung-Sik Lee, B.Sc. (Korea Adv. Inst. of Science and Technology), Ph.D. (Pohang)
Duncan O’Dell, B.Sc. (Imperial), Ph.D. (Bristol)
Laura Parker, B.Sc. (Mount Allison), Ph.D. (Waterloo)
Maikel C. Rheinstadter, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D. (Saarland, Germany)

Assistant Professors

Itay Yavin, B.Sc. (York), Ph.D. (Harvard)

Associate Members

Jeffrey J. Hoyt (Materials Science and Engineering)
José Moran-Mirabal (Chemistry)
John S. Preston (Engineering Physics)

Adjunct Member

Nikolas Provatas, M.Sc., Ph.D. (McGill)
Ethan T. Vishniac, B.S./B.A. (Rochester), M.A., Ph.D. (Harvard)
Chris Wiebe, B.Sc. (Winnipeg), M.Sc., Ph.D. (McMaster)

Professors Emeriti

A. John Berlinsky, B.Sc. (Fordham College), M.Sc., Ph.D.(Pennsylvania)
Rajat K. Bhaduri, M.Sc. (Calcutta), Ph.D. (McMaster)
Dennis G. Burke, B.E., M.Sc. (Saskatchewan), Ph.D. (McMaster)

William E. Harris, B.Sc. (Alberta), M.Sc., Ph.D. (Toronto)
Yukihisa Nogami, B.Sc., D.Sc. (Kyoto)
Donald W.L. Sprung, B.A. (Toronto), Ph.D., D.Sc. (Birmingham),F.R.S.C.

Peter G. Sutherland, B.Sc. (McGill), M.S., Ph.D. (Illinois)
Thomas Timusk, B.A. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Cornell), F.R.S.C.
Wytse van Dijk, B.Sc., Ph.D. (McMaster)
James C. Waddington, B.Sc. (Queen’s), Ph.D. (McMaster)

Research in Physics and Astronomy

Opportunities for research are described in detail on the web at http://www.physics.mcmaster.ca/. The areas of research are concentrated in the following fields:

Astrophysics - A. Chen, H. Couchman, W. Harris, L. Parker, R. Pudritz, A. Sills, P. Sutherland, E. Vishniac, J. Wadsley, D. Welch, C. Wilson.
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical - H. Haugen, D. O’Dell, J. Preston.
Computational and Theoretical Physics -J. Berlinsky, R. Bhaduri, C. Burgess, J. Carbotte, H. Couchman, C. Kallin, S. Lee, Y. Nogami, R. Pudritz, A. Shi, A. Sills, E. Sorensen, D. Sprung, P. Sutherland, W. van Dijk, J. Wadsley, I. Yavin.
Condensed Matter Physics - J. Berlinsky, J. Carbotte, B. Gaulin, T. Imai, C. Kallin, S. Lee, G. Luke, E. Sorensen, T. Timusk, D. Venus.
Soft Condensed Matter of Biophysics - K. Dalnoki-Veress, C. Fradin, P. Higgs, J. Moran-Mirabal, M. Rheinstadter, A. Shi.

In addition, J. Waddington and A. Chen work in Nuclear Physics Experiment.

Facilities for Research

Excellent research facilities are available for research in Physics and Astronomy. In addition to the research laboratories of individual faculty, there are shared facilities on campus, and a consistent history of access to national and international facilities. Many faculty in condensed matter physics and optics are members of the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research (described in section 7.7), and therefore have access to electron microscopes, an atomic force microscope, x-ray diffraction equipment, materials preparation facilities, a He liquifier and the best crystal growing facilities in Canada. McMaster is half-owner of a neutron spectrometer at Chalk River and has regular access to neutron scattering facilities elsewhere. McMaster is an associate member of the TRIUMF National Laboratories in Vancouver; faculty are involved in condensed matter and nuclear astrophysics studies there. The astronomers frequently use the Canada-France-Hawaii optical telescope, the James Clerk Maxwell millimetre telescope, the Cerro Tololo Observatory, the Kitt Peak Observatory and the Owens Valley Radio Observatory. Theorists connected to all these groups benefit from the SHARC-NET supercomputer network and the many powerful UNIX-based computers and workstations operated by the Department.

Programs

• Physics and Astronomy, M.Sc.

• Physics and Astronomy, Ph.D

• Physics and Astronomy Courses

Return to: Areas of Study