The Department of Physics at the University of Houston is a department of the University of Houston College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics performing research traditional fields such as

High Energy Physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) and b ...

and

Condensed Matter Physics Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the sub ...

, Material Science, and

Biological Physics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study Biology, biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from Molecule, molecular to organismic ...

, but also topics like

Seismic Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

and

Medical Imaging Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to rev ...

. With its physics program, the University of Houston physics department placed 60 (out of 160) in the 2010 United States National Research Council rankings. The Department works together closely with the

Texas Center for Superconductivity The Texas Center for Superconductivity (TcSUH) is a research center based at the University of Houston with main focus on superconductivity and materials research, aiming to develop high temperature superconducting materials (HTS). Scientists a ...

Research

The research at the University of Houston's Department of Physics can be structured as * Biological and Medical Physics: A Bensoula, S. Curran, M. Das, A. Ignatiev, J. Miller, D. Starikov. K. Bassler, M. Cheung, M. Das, G. Gunaratne, W. P. Su, G. C. Morrison * High Energy, Medium Energy and Heavy Ion Physics: R. Bellwied, E. Hungerford, K. Lau, L. Pinsky, A. Timmins, L. Whitehead. C. Ordonez * Nanophysics: A. Bensoula, S. Curran, A. Freundlich, A. Ignatiev, H. Peng, D. Starikov, O. Varghese. M. Cheung * Seismic Physics: A. Weglein * Renewable Energy: A. Bensoula, S. Curran, R. Forrest, A. Freundlich, V. Selvamanickam, D. Starikov, D. Stokes, O. Varghese. M. Cheung, S. Curran, A. Freundlich. * Planetary Science, Space Physics and Radiation Physics * Econophysics, Statistical and Non-Linear Physics, Complexity & Network Science: S. Curran. M. Cheung, K. Bassler, E. Brittner, G. Gunaratne, B. Hu, V. Lubchenko, J. McCauley, G.C. Morrison * Superconductivity: Paul Chu (朱經武), C. W. Chu, W. K. Chu, P. Hor, J. Miller, S. H. Pan. K. Bassler, G. F. Reiter, W. P. Su, C. S. Ting

Teaching

The department offers a bachelor of science degree in physics, possibly with a geophysics specialization, and a bachelor of arts degree in physics. In the near future there will also be a bachelor of science degree in computational physics. At the graduate level, the department offers a master of science and doctorate of philosophy in physics.

In the press

Prof
Oomman Varghese
and Maggie Paulose are listed on Thomson Reuters 2014 list of highly cited researchers in materials science, and also included on the list of the ''World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds'' as the University of Houston's president Renu Khator pointed out in her fall address in 2014. Prof
Kevin E Bassler
was awarded the ''John and Rebecca Moores Professorship'' in 2014. Being hired in 1998 he became

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

-track

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

in 2000. His PhD thesis (1985-1990) was on statistical mechanics of commensurate-incommensurate phase transitions under the supervision of Robert Griffiths. Prof
Simon Charles Moss
joined the physics department in 1972 performing research on the full gamut of materials from hetero- structures and multilayers to quasi-crystals and decagonal crystals using x-ray and neutron scattering as probes of order in matter. He died of a heart attack on 14 March 2011.

References

{{University of Houston, show=no Natural Sciences and Mathematics Physics departments in the United States