Group of faculty and staff members in the physics department

Department of Physics

The Department of Physics is a community of faculty, staff, students and alumni dedicated to excellence in education in general and excellence in physics education in particular. As a physics student, you will study the properties and behavior of matter and energy in a wide variety of contexts, ranging from the sub-microscopic particles from which all ordinary matter is made (particle physics) to the behavior of the Universe as a whole (cosmology).

The Department of Physics has developed a research-oriented culture for both its faculty and students. It is expected that most students will be involved with some level of research activity over their four-year development in the discipline of physics. The ability to put into practice what is learned in the classroom is paramount to your growth as a young scientist.

Depending on their interests, students can choose a specific track to obtain a BS degree in Physics.

Physics Tracks

In the research laboratory, you will learn to ask appropriate questions, design and perform experiments to answer those questions, analyze data using computational methods and draw appropriate conclusions. Students will also be exposed to the interfaces of physics and biology and physics and chemistry, exposing them to how the methods of physics are central to addressing key problems in other disciplines.

To learn about student activities please visit The Society of Physics Students.

To learn about Physics Girls Camp please visit  Physics Girls Camp Webpage.

News & Announcements

SJU Physics majors Shayna Sit and Deryk McGarry and Prof. Roberto Ramos attended the 2024 March Meeting of the American Physical Society, the largest meeting of physicists and physics students in the world, at Minneapolis, MN. The contingent presented four conference posters and one contributed talk, and had time to celebrate World Quantum Day! Titles of their presentations are:

“Promoting the Stories of Women in Physics” - Shayna Sit
“Ten Years of Supporting Middle School Girls in STEM” - Deryk McGarry
“Physics Wonder Girls Program: Celebrating Ten Years of Supporting Middle School Girls in STEM” - Dr. Roberto Ramos (talk)
“Flow of a Non-Newtonian Liquid Around a Sphere” - Shayna Sit
“Determining the Energy Gaps of Asymmetrical All-MgB2 Thin Film Josephson Junctions” - Dr. Roberto Ramos

 

The American Physical Society's March Meeting is a scientific research conference convening 13,000 physicists and students from around the world to connect and collaborate across academia, industry, and major labs.

Shayna Sit '25 and Dr. Piotr Habdas attended the 23rd Mid-Atlantic Soft Matter Workshop at Georgetown University.  Shayna gave a talk titled "Sphere Drag in a Non-Newtonian Liquid' and Dr. Habdas gave a talk titled "Local Perturbations of Dense Colloidal Suspensions".  The Workshop was attended by 150 researchers from the region including institutions such as: Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, NIST, or University of Maryland.

 

The Mid-Atlantic Soft Matter Workshop (started in 2007) draws upon researchers from academic, industrial, and National Laboratories in the Mid-Atlantic region. The auspicious combination of density and quality of research groups provides a reservoir for ideas and an excellent opportunity for community-building and networking.  An ideal forum for researchers with interests that reside at the interface of conventional disciplines. The workshop naturally assists in the career advancement of young scientists by acquainting them with the local academic and industrial research community.

Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., Ph.D., director of the Vatican Observatory and president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, was a speaker at the Physics Seminar on Nov. 2nd.  Br. Consolmagno gave a talk titled "When Science Goes Wrong: The Desire and Search For Truth".  Before the talk Br. Consolmagno met with Physics students.

Dr. Roberto Ramos was a keynote speaker in Nanohubs Webinar Series on Nanotechnology on Oct 13.  This webinar aims to educate and encourage young researchers, students, and nano-enthusiasts to engage in Research & Development in nanotechnology and address the gap in research skills and human capital in the Philippines.

Congratulations to Julia!

Julia Osęka ’25 was appointed by Pope Francis as Delegate to Universal Assembly in Rome, Marking First Time in History Non-Bishops Have Voting Status.  Julia was selected as one of the two young laypeople representing the United States Catholic community.

For more details please click here.

SHORTEN YOUR PATHWAY TO A MASTERS IN ENGINEERING!

Saint Joseph’s University and Drexel University College of Engineering have signed and executed an articulation agreement for BS/MS 4+1 program which will allow students to earn in 5 years a BS in Physics from SJU and a Masters either in Materials Science and Engineering or Electrical Engineering from Drexel University.

 

For more information please contact:

Elia V. Eschenazi, PhD

Professor and Acting Chair

Saint Joseph’s University

eeschenazi@sju.edu

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A CERTIFIED HS PHYSICS TEACHER IN 4 YEARS?

There is a daunting shortage of Physics teachers in Pennsylvania and nationwide. Physics teachers are now in high demand. Which means many positions will be available for Physics teachers. It is a very rewarding career. If you are interested to become a Physics teacher, at Saint Joseph’s University we have a great program.

With the Physics Education track in the Physics curriculum a student can complete the double majors in Physics and Education and earn secondary-education (7-12) certification in four years.

 

For more information please contact:

Elia V. Eschenazi, PhD

Professor and Acting Chair

Saint Joseph’s University

eeschenazi@sju.edu

 

HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS RESEARCH CAMP

Presented by Department of Physics, Saint Joseph's University

June 19–24, 2023
Saint Joseph's University
University City location
600 S. 43rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19104

FREE to ALL students and teachers - High School Physics Research Camp Flyer

For details please visit: High School Physics Research Camp

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Explore Our Department

Faculty are well-versed in the physics of soft condensed matter, fluid dynamics, granular materials and much more.

Why study Physics?

  • Physics truly is one of the most exciting and interesting subjects one can study. Discoveries from physics have revolutionized the world and will certainly continue to do so. Between the innermost workings of the nucleus and the outer edges of the visible universe lies the playground of physics. Combining imagination with systematic reasoning, the physicist seeks to understand the laws of nature, the structure of matter and the behavior of physical processes — the keys to many of the universe's secrets. The area of physics covers such intriguing topics as lasers, superconductors, black holes, quantum mechanics, big bang theory, relativity and more. It also covers more basic but still fascinating questions such as why the sky is blue, why sunsets are red and why ice floats. In short, physicists are explorers trying to understand the world around them.

  • Physics is sometimes referred to as the "liberal arts" degree of technology because physics majors can go on to careers in fields such as computer science, engineering, research and development and biology. Obtaining an undergraduate degree in physics is a way to keep your options open. It tells prospective employers this person has what it takes to succeed. The physics major learns to start with an ill-posed problem, formulate it quantitatively, solve it and communicate the results clearly — skills that transfer readily to many fields. The American Institute of Physics has the latest data available on employment and career trends in physics

  • The physics department graduates about 3-5 majors each year which means that there are only 3-10 students in each physics majors course. This means that you'll get more personalized attention. 

  • Physics majors have a reputation for solid mathematical skills, strong problem-solving ability and good work ethic. It is these fundamental skills that allow them to work successfully in so many different areas.

  • According to data from the American Institute of Physics, students who major in physics often pull in high starting salaries. 

Alumni Spotlight

ryan stull '15

I graduated from Saint Joseph's in 2015 where I majored in physics and computer science. While at St. Joe's, I learned about physics, computers, software and mathematics. However, the most important thing I learned was to push myself. That work ethic is something that has helped me in every aspect of my life. Currently, I'm working at Impact Inc. as a big data engineer. I work on the data platform team where we deal with the movement, storage and processing of the vast amounts of data that come in."

ryan stull '15

Ryan Stull '15

Data Engineer, Impact Inc.

gianna valentino

I received my B.S. in physics with a minor in mathematics from Saint Joseph's in 2014. Thereafter, I attended Johns Hopkins University and completed my Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. In June 2020, I joined the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) as a postdoctoral fellow in the Research and Exploratory Development Department. At APL, I was a part of the multifunctional materials and nanostructures group working on alloy design and development for high-temperature structural materials."  I am currently an Assistant Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Maryland working on nanostructured materials.

gianna valentino

Gianna Valentino '14

Assistant Professor, University of Maryland

zachery brown

I graduated from Saint Joseph's in 2017 after majoring in physics and philosophy. During that time, I worked on several research projects in Piotr Habdas’s lab investigating the physical properties of dense colloidal materials. After graduation, I moved to Rochester, New York where I am currently living and pursuing a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Rochester. In my current research, I use maps of the structure of the universe to look for signatures of baryon acoustic oscillations, which are enormous sound waves in the early universe that affect where galaxies form."

zachery brown

Zachery Brown '17

Ph.D. Candidate, University of Rochester

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