{"id":56705,"date":"2019-08-29T11:43:30","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T18:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=56705"},"modified":"2019-08-29T11:43:31","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T18:43:31","slug":"new-departments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/new-departments\/","title":{"rendered":"New names, same strengths: The creation of two departments to help advance pioneering work in physics, astronomy fields"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Aug. 29. 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With new Ph.D. programs, a new research center, a new\ncollege and expanded faculty, all in the last three years, new departments\nweren\u2019t far behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This summer, the Department of Physics and Astronomy split\ninto the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences (APS) and the\nDepartment of Applied Physics and Materials Science (APMS). APMS is in the\nCollege of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences, while APS stays in\nthe College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The change, which has been in discussion for about a year,\nis an opportunity to put NAU\u2019s strengths front and center in the newly revamped\ndepartments, building on the success of the programs and allowing each to focus\nmore exclusively on the needs and success of students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students should not see major changes, especially this year,\nthough curriculum will be redone in the next couple of years, and over time\nstudents in physics and astronomy will take fewer combined courses. But expect\nplenty of continued collaboration, said department chairs Nadine Barlow<\/strong>\nand Gabe Monta\u00f1o<\/strong>. You can\u2019t take the physics out of astronomy\u2014or\nanything else, really\u2014and students will continue to work with professors in\nboth departments on research and in classes. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis elevates both programs to a level where we can become\nstronger but also continue working together to develop some unique programs,\u201d said\nMonta\u00f1o, the APMS department chair. \u201cWe\u2019re working hand in hand to make sure\nthat none of what NAU has invested so much in creating is lost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople outside the university will have a better\nunderstanding of the types of research that we do here in the department and a\nbetter understanding of the types of degree plans that we\u2019re offering,\u201d APS\nchair Barlow said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean students aren\u2019t still going to have a lot\nof physics to take, but now it will be much more astronomy-focused in many\nrespects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Department of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

NAU already has significant expertise in planetary sciences,\nand they are working to not only increase that strength but also to expand even\nfurther into the solar system and beyond as the department grows and as they\nadjust the curriculum to meet the specific needs of astronomy students. A\nnumber of physics courses will be revamped with an astronomy focus. For\nexample, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

instead of computational physics, which focuses on MATLAB\nsoftware, they\u2019ll take computational astronomy, which will teach students how\nto use Python software, which is more commonly used in astronomy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

APS also added two new professors to its ranks: Devon\nBurr<\/strong>, who works with the planetary sciences group; and Josh Emery<\/strong>, who\nworks on asteroids and primitive bodies. The department is asking for more\nhires in the next few years, Barlow said, with a focus on expanding expertise in\nareas such as stellar and galactic astronomy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Devon Burr<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Barlow hopes this change will introduce new opportunities\nfor collaboration with counterparts across the state. NAU already has\npartnerships with researchers at Arizona State and the University of Arizona;\nthe three state institutions have all made planetary astronomy a priority,\nhelped along by Arizona\u2019s terrestrial analogs for geological features found on\nother planets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revamping the curriculum will happen slowly. The physics and\nthe merged physics and astronomy majors went with APMS, while APS retained the\nastronomy degree. Merged physics and astronomy students who were doing research\nwith astronomy professors will continue on those projects. The cohorts that\nwere a mix of physics, astronomy and the merged physics and astronomy majors\nwill continue to take many classes together, although astronomy majors will\ngradually transition to the new astronomy course offerings in place of some\nupper-level physics courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Josh Emery<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The department also wants to add more programs, including\nredeveloping the current astronomy undergraduate degree to include emphases in\nastrophysics and in planetary science, which are obvious matches for the\nprogram\u2019s strengths. The department is considering additional degree plans for\nthe future, such as a possible BSED (science education) in astronomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year marks the fourth year of the Ph.D. program in\nastronomy and planetary science, which now has 27 students. The first graduate\nof the program could finish in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Flagstaff has a long history\nof engagement with the field of astronomy, and we’re excited for the new\nDepartment of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences to highlight NAU’s outstanding\nstrengths in this area,\u201d said CEFNS Interim Dean Jason Wilder<\/strong>. \u201cIn\nrecent years we’ve hired faculty with cutting-edge research programs that range\nfrom designing spacecraft instrumentation that explores Mars and asteroids to\nstudying the objects at the farthest reaches of the Solar System. We’ve also\nrecruited top-notch doctoral students for our Ph.D. program. NAU is rapidly\nbecoming an internationally recognized leader in this exciting field.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This new department shares a name with one of NAU\u2019s newest\ndoctoral programs. Eight students are part of the inaugural class, which\nstarted this week. Department chair Gabe Monta\u00f1o, who came to NAU two years ago\nto start the Center for Materials\nInterfaces in Research and Applications<\/a> (\u00a1MIRA!) with Jen Martinez<\/strong>,\nsaid the marriage of the two disciplines made sense to him, coming from a\ncareer at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in a Division of\nMaterials, Physics and Applications. What NAU is doing is novel in education;\nmost materials science programs are paired with materials engineering, not\nleaving space for students who want a foundation in applied science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI saw there was an opportunity to create that here,\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cThis is an opportunity to create something unique that Arizona doesn\u2019t\nhave, that the region doesn\u2019t really have, and that I truly believe there is an\ninterest in. And within that is an opportunity to make sure that we do not lose\nwhat we do well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

APMS includes bachelor\u2019s degrees in physics and the merged\nphysics and astronomy major, as well as a master\u2019s degree in applied physics and\nthe new doctoral program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Miguel Jose Yacaman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“I know that faculty across\nour college are happy to welcome our APMS and \u00a1MIRA! colleagues and really\nexcited to continue building on our already existing collaborations in both\nresearch and teaching,\u201d said CEIAS Interim Dean John Georgas<\/strong>. \u201cThese\ninterdisciplinary collaborations are at the core of what we do and will help\nprepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the future.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much like in APS, students won\u2019t see much immediate change. The\ncurriculum will change over time in terms of new program development, focusing\non preparing students for work in industry, national labs and universities. However,\nthe merged physics and astronomy bachelor\u2019s degrees will remain the same. Half\na dozen of the current faculty come from a background in national labs, so they\nknow what\u2019s needed to succeed in those environments, Monta\u00f1o said. They also\nhave networks to help place students in internships and jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rob Whetten<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Over the next few years, he plans to identify the areas\nwhere the department\u2019s expertise can be strengthened and focus new faculty\nhires on those areas; he also wants to talk about new degree programs, such as\na 4+1 master\u2019s degree. APMS also has added two new faculty members who are\ninternationally recognized leaders in applied physics and materials science: Miguel\nJose Yacaman<\/strong> and Rob Whetten<\/strong>. Yacaman is a pioneer in electron microscopy\nof nanomaterials, and Whetten is a leader and pioneer in metallic nanoclusters.\nThese additions add to the already existing strengths in present in APMS in nanomaterials\nand physical characterization techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople really think about the students first, and can we do\nsomething to create new opportunities for students,\u201d Monta\u00f1o said. \u201cIf the\nanswer is yes, then we try to work toward that. What we\u2019re doing now is exactly\nthat. This has really been fueled by the ability to create new opportunity for\nstudents.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aug. 29. 2019 With new Ph.D. programs, a new research center, a new college and expanded faculty, all in the last three years, new departments weren\u2019t far behind. This summer, the Department of Physics and Astronomy split into the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences (APS) and the Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-academics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56705\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}