Students are invited, from their first year on, to participate in research with faculty on an informal or formal basis. Research experiences are expected of physics and engineering students. To see ongoing research projects by faculty members, refer to the faculty pages on the left. Our faculty research specialties include geophysics, earthquake seismology, relativity, astrophysics, science education, solid-state physics, low-temperature physics, and laser spectroscopy. We have access to numerous laser labs, low-temperature equipment, the Winfree Observatory, the Randolph College Seismography Station, and much more.    

Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of many paid summer research opportunities. The College also has its own Summer Research Program (http://www.randolphcollege.edu/summer), which has physics projects every year.  This program is open only to Randolph College students and allows for research in any subject area.  Students may work on an existing ongoing project, work on a newly proposed project or, design their own project under the supervision of a  participating professor.  Each summer the program hosts over ten different projects from departments across campus.  For eight weeks, one or two students work with a faculty member to develop their project and present their findings and conclusions to those on campus in a formal presentation and discussion setting. Often, the presentations are also taken to national meetings.

The Department of Physics requires one-semester of independent research during the senior year on projects of the students' choosing, closely mentored by a faculty member. These projects can be done more extensively (over a longer time) for Departmental Honors.

Research Projects in Physics