Research in the astronomy & astrophysics program usually falls into topics related to gravitational physics, sources for gravitational waves, stars, galaxies, galaxy formation and chemical enrichment, and cosmology. Students in the astrophysics program are involved in at least one research project that tackles a problem at the current edge of human understanding.
Research on strong-gravity systems and gravitational wave sources, led by Dr. Matthew Duez. These are three snapshots in time from a numerical simulation of a neutron star being shredded by the tidal gravitational force of a black hole.
Research on detection of gravitational wave signals from the LIGO observatory, led by Dr. Sukanta Bose and adjunct professor Fred Raab, LIGO head. WSU is the nearest major university to the Hanford detector pictured here.
Research on general relativity and the production of gravitational waves, led by Dr. Sukanta Bose. Click on the thumbnail for an enlarged view of the gravity waves expected from a close pair of black holes whose orbits are decaying because of the energy lost through gravity wave emission.
Research on galaxy merging and formation histories, led by Dr. Guy Worthey. The pair of interacting galaxies is the large spiral M 51 (or NGC 5194) plus its companion NGC 5195.
Research on STEM Pedagogy, led by Dr. Michael Allen
Research on stars and stellar populations by recent postdoc alumnus Dr. Hyun-chul Lee. This image of globular cluster M10 was obtained by Till Credner and Sven Kohle of Hohner List Observatory.
Faculty
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Michael McNeil Forbes
Michael McNeil Forbes
Associate Professor of Physics
Office: Webster Physical Sciences 947F
Phone: (509) 335-6125
Fax: (509) 335-7816
E-mail: michael.forbes at wsu.eduResearch: nuclear many-body theory to answer outstanding questions about superfluids in nuclei, neutron stars, cold atoms; condensed matter and atomic physics; high energy physics (QCD) with applications to astrophysics and cosmology; computer science
Website: (Link)
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Vivienne Baldassare
Vivienne Baldassare
Assistant Professor of Physics
Office: Webster Physical Sciences 947H
Phone: (509) 335-9179
Fax: (509) 335-7816
E-mail: vivienne.baldassare at wsu.eduWebsite: (Link)
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Guy Worthey
Guy Worthey
Associate Professor of Physics
Office: Webster Physical Sciences 948C
Phone: (509) 335-4994
Fax: (509) 335-7816
E-mail: gworthey at wsu.eduResearch: Astrophysics, Observation Cosmology, Stellar Populations
Website: Jewett Observatory, WSU Planetarium
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Matthew Duez
Matt Duez
Associate Professor of Physics
Office: Webster Physical Sciences 947E
Phone: (509) 335-2396
Fax: (509) 335-7816
E-mail: m.duez at wsu.eduResearch: Astrophysics
Website: (Link)
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Sukanta Bose
Sukanta Bose
Professor of Physics
Office: Webster Physical Sciences 948B
Phone: (509) 335-3698
Fax: (509) 335-7816
E-mail: sukanta at wsu.eduResearch: Cosmology, Relativistic Astrophysics, Gravitation
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Michael Allen
Michael Allen
Senior Instructor of Physics & Astronomy
Office: Webster Physical Sciences 1246
Phone: (509) 335-1279
Fax: (509) 335-7816
E-mail: mlfa at wsu.eduAreas of expertise: STEM education, astronomy
Personal webpages: http://astro.wsu.edu/allen/
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