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Chair: Mitch Soderberg
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Steven Blusk, Joseph Paulsen
Faculty:
Marina Artuso, Stefan Ballmer, Steven Blusk, Duncan Brown, Craig Cahillane, Simon Catterall, Eric Coughlin, Walter Freeman, Jay Hubisz, John Laiho, Colm Kelleher, Alex Maloney, M. Lisa Manning, Georgia Mansell, Alan Middleton, Liviu Movileanu, Alexander Nitz, Nidhi Pashine, Alison Patteson, Joseph Paulsen, Ivan Pechenezhskiy, Jennifer Ross, Matthew Rudolph, Christian Santangelo, Jennifer Schwarz, Rafael Silva Coutinho, Mirna Mihovilovic Skanata, Tomasz Skwarnicki, Mitchell Soderberg, Paul Souder, Scott Watson, Denver Whittington
Program Description:
Astronomy and astrophysics is the study of the cosmos – from the scale of the solar system to the Universe as a whole – and uses physics to analyze planets, stars, and black holes. By pursuing an astronomy B.A., the student will gain an understanding of these objects and their gravitational interaction to produce larger celestial structures, including planetary systems, galaxies, and black hole binaries. By fulfilling the course requirements for the B.A., the student will learn and apply the fundamentals of nuclear fusion, thermodynamics, radiation and radiative transport, quantum mechanics, and Newtonian gravitation. The student will also have the opportunity to explore more specialized topics, such general relativity, astrobiology, and high-energy astrophysics, where the latter includes gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and compact objects (white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes). The emphasis of the coursework is on the qualitative understanding of these and other astronomical systems and the physics governing their evolution. Higher-level courses that delve deeper into the mathematical nature of these systems of equations and their solutions can also replace (in credit) lower-level courses. Students will also learn practical skills that are used heavily in other fields and industry, such as data analysis, statistical inference, and low-level programming and computation.