Department of Physics
Be Part of a Community...
The Physics Department is dedicated to helping their students achieve success both in the classroom and beyond. The department is comprised of a tight-knit group of majors with students active in a variety of clubs, including the Society of Physics Students. Physics students organize various campus events, travel to local schools, study together, relax together, and have an exclusive use of the “Physics Reading Room” – a student lounge with a computer lab and kitchenette.
Research Beyond the Classroom...
Physics students conduct and participate in a variety of undergraduate research projects leading to publications, conference presentations, and seminars. Students are highly involved faculty research of expertise; including biophysics, quantum optics, cosmology, gravitational physics, condensed matter physics, robotics and machine learning. The students have presented at national and regional conferences, co-authored published articles, and presented at Loyola seminars.
Continued Success After Graduation...
The students of the Physics Department achieve a wide variety of accomplishments after graduation. Physics alumni often continue their education in medical schools (very high acceptance rate), various engineering fields, astrophysics, neuroscience, statistics, earning MD, PhD or MSc degrees. Others have entered workforce directly and our alumni now work as researchers (astrophysics, neuroscience), engineers (off-shore wind turbines, biomedical, software), teachers and in many other professions.
Discover Academics
The Department of Physics offers Bachelor of Science degrees in physics, pre-engineering, pre-health physics and liberal arts physics. Scholarships are available to Physics students based on their academic achievement and/or financial need. For a complete list of Physics scholarships click here. Learn more about our programs of study »
Discover Research
Our faculty are active in different areas of Theoretical and Experimental Physics. In addition to course work, students are encouraged to get involved in research with the faculty. Learn more about our undergraduate research opportunities »
Faculty Success
Prof. Kargol delivered a keynote address at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at Belmont University in Nashville, TN.
Prof. Kargol has been invited as a keynote speaker at BURS, the Belmont Undergraduate Research Symposium, in Nashville, TN. BURS, held every two years, is a venue for undergraduate researchers from Belmont University to present their research in arts and humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and mathematics.
Student Success
Bradley Kerkhof (Physics'22) will pursue his PhD in University of Maryland’s (UMD) Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
This Fall, graduating senior Bradley Kerkhof will begin pursuing his PhD in University of Maryland’s (UMD) Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. There he will be researching nanophotonic devices to be integrated with circuits for quantum computers still in development.
At Loyola Bradley worked in Dr. Kargol's research group. Together with a recent Loyola Physics alumnus, Cole Green, they contributed to a collaboration lead by Dr. Celardo from University of Florence, Italy. Bradley modeled photosynthetic antenna complexes in green sulfur bacteria, in an attempt to predict and understand quantum behavior in biological organisms. He also has experience in Dr. McHugh’s Quantum Optics Lab at Loyola. He is the Recipient of the Reverend John H. Mullahy, S.J., and Donald C. Faust, M.D. Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Physical Sciences as well as the Reverend Percy A. Roy, S.J. Memorial Award, presented to the student(s) who achieved the highest academic record during their entire four-year career at Loyola. He graduates with majors in Physics and Mathematics, and a minor in computer science.
Showcase
NASA funded project "LaACES"
Loyola students (Larissa Morales, Hannah Supranowicz, and Jonathan Andino) participated in NASA- funded project LaACES. They built a hot air balloon payload to measure atmospheric data while ascending and descending in the atmosphere.