Research

In the Physics Department, students gain hands-on research experience with department faculty, innovative equipment and scientists from some of the world's top institutions. For more than a century, the department has spearheaded important discoveries in our labs and fostered generations of researchers, systems engineers, environmental scientists and biomedical engineers. Outside the department, our faculty hold leadership roles with partner institutes around the world, offering students unparalleled research and employment opportunities. 

With lab groups across many interest areas, undergraduate and graduate students can build their research experience and present, publish and win awards for their work. Research is ongoing in experimental and theoretical nuclear physics, experimental and theoretical biophysics, and high-energy astrophysics.

 


“[The university] combines the academic environment and also the research environment because GW is located in a hub of educational institutions and research centers. … The people that exist at and near the university are such fantastic scientists and personalities.”

Chryssa Kouveliotou
Professor of Astrophysics

Chryssa Kouveliotou

Faculty by Research Area


Research Facilities

 

TA Raju Timsina talks with Mark Reeves in the SEH biophysics lab, surrounded by laboratory equipment and computers
The biophysics lab in Science and Engineering Hall

 

 

The Physics Department operates out of historic Corcoran Hall and the state-of-the-art Science and Engineering Hall (SEH). Labs are outfitted with cutting-edge equipment. The department also partners with researchers from other sciences at SEH, and faculty collaborate with many of the country's top research institutions located in the Washington, D.C., area.

 


Physics Making Headlines

Prof. Andrei Alexandru

Andrei Alexandru was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society

Andrei Alexandru was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society

The lower half of a man's face is photographed here. He is wearing a medical face mask that reads, "COVID-19 Misinformation" in all red text

Study: Online Battle Lost Early in COVID Crisis

A team led by Physics’ Neil Johnson revealed mainstream Facebook communities were already intertwined with anti-science groups before COVID-19 vaccines arrived.

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Exploring Cosmic Extremes

In a conversation with CCAS Dean Paul Wahlbeck, Physics Professor Alexander van der Horst discusses gamma-ray bursts and more.

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GW Students Present Research at the 19th American Astronomical Society HEAD Meeting

In March 2022, eight GW astrophysics graduate students and one undergraduate student traveled to the astrophysics conference to present their exciting research.