Welcome to Physics & Astronomy
2018 has been a year to remember. We had a fire in June that displaced us from our research space. We are (almost) back and going strong. Our concept for a new Physics research building received the green light. With luck, it will be shovels-down next Fall. Will Percival, the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Distinguished Chair in Astrophysics, has arrived and is energizing the department. Five exceptional graduate students received Vanier awards in physics. Emily Pass won the triple crown in Co-Op undergraduate astrophysics. In October we learned that our own Donna Strickland won the Nobel Prize in Physics. And, as of this writing, 2018 is not over. It’s taken months for all of this to sink in as we prepare for our December sojourn to Stockholm. The festivities and excitement will surely continue long after the ceremonies in Stockholm have ended. I look forward to telling you about it in the new year. For those of you considering physics as a way of life, please take a close look at our programs. If you are lucky to be admitted in 2019, come and share in the excitement of doing physics at Waterloo, a great department, at a great university, located in a great community that lives and breathes physics.
Come to Waterloo!
Brian McNamara, Chair
The Physics & Astronomy department encourages an inclusive, tolerant, respectful, and diverse, intellectual environment
News
- Dec. 7, 2018Physics alumnus makes 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list
From manufacturing and industry, robotics, healthcare and more, eleven of Waterloo’s alumni and former students have earned spots on the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. The list, which represents innovative minds from Canada and the United States, stretches across 23 categories for a total of 600 people. Among the group, are two Science a
- Oct. 31, 2018Hotspot discovery proves Waterloo astrophysicist’s black hole theory
The recent detection of flares circling black holes has proven a decade-old theory - co-developed by Waterloo physicist Avery Broderick - about how black holes grow and consume matter.
- Oct. 2, 2018Donna Strickland wins Nobel Prize in Physics
Donna Strickland, a University of Waterloo professor who helped revolutionize laser physics, has been named a winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics.
Strickland, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, shares half the $1.4 million prize with French laser physicist Gérard Mourou. The other half was awarded to U.S. physicist Arthur Ashkin.
Events
- Feb. 20, 2019Massive Quiescent Galaxy Size and Spectroscopic Evolution in the Last Six Billion Years
Astronomy Lunch Series
Ivana Damjanov
Canada Research Chair in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Astronomy & Physics Department, Saint Mary's University - Feb. 25, 2019CAP Lecture: The Best Extrasolar Planets
Phys10 Undergraduate Seminar Series
Stanimir Metchev
Associate Professor & Canada Research Chair
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Western University - Feb. 28, 2019The Softest Crystals
Colloquium Series
Randall Kamien
Vicki and William Abrams Professor in the Natural Sciences
Department of Physics & Astronomy
University of PennsylvaniaDr. Kamien's research interests center on problems in condensed matter theory. He and his research group are currently exploring problems in liquid crystals, foams, soft self-assembly, and biological physics.
Meet our people
Melanie Campbell
Dr. Campbell leads a highly multidisciplinary research group where they study ocular development, eye disease, and linear and non-linear optics of the eye. They investigate the fundamental refractive properties of the eye's components to improve diagnosis and therapy for various ocular conditions.
