Astrophysics

Work at LIGO (Hanford, WA) searching for gravitational waves. Observe galaxy formation using the Hubble Space Telescope. WSU's rapidly growing Astrophysics program offers an expanding universe of research.

Matter under Extreme Conditions

Generate extreme pressures at the multi-disciplinary Institute for Shock Physics. Squeeze semiconductors and organic solids with diamond-anvil cells. Participate in reduced-gravity acoustics experiments and take a spin on the "vomit comet." Experiments don't get any more extreme.

Materials and Optical Physics

Use femtosecond laser pulses to probe ultrafast phenomena. Investigate materials for energy applications. Study interactions between photons and matter in nanostructures and biological materials. Push the limits of nonlinear optics to make the internet faster. This is fundamental research with important applications.

Novel States of Matter

View weird quantum effects in the Bose-Einstein Condenstate laboratory. Investigate the theory of cold quantum gases, many-body physics, chaos, and complexity. Make Buckyballs out of gold. Here, the "normal" rules do not apply.