Welcome from the Department Head

Welcome to the official web site of the Department of Physics at Kansas State University. The department has 27 permanent faculty, 56 second-year or beyond graduate students (almost all of them are pursuing a PhD degree in physics), 13 incoming graduate students for the next academic year, 22 postdoctoral fellows, and 41 undergraduate physics majors. We are a dedicated group of people striving for excellence in physics research and teaching.

Our faculty conducts research in atomic, molecular and optical physics, in condensed, soft and biological matter physics, in cosmology and high-energy physics, and in physics education. You can read about our ranking against our peer institutions and a summary of our faculty and student achievements in the Bragging Rights section on our web page.

Our undergraduate students receive personal attention from the faculty. Research experience as an undergraduate plays a major role in the education and training of our physics majors.  Our students have opportunities to participate in research beginning as early as their first year. They get first-hand experience working as a scientist throughout their careers at K-State.  Graduating students consistently comment that their research experience as an undergraduate was one of the most meaningful experiences as students at K-State. Undergraduate research experience has been instrumental in many of our students winning prestigious national fellowships. The department also offers research experiences for undergraduates from colleges around the country in the summer.

Our graduate students typically start their research after their first year and almost all will receive research assistantships during their tenure. The department offers excellent infrastructure in electronic shops and machine shops as well as computational and office staff support.  Students have ample opportunities to participate in off-site experiments and attend national and international conferences.  Our students finish their PhDs about a year less than the national average.

We are located in Manhattan which is a medium-sized college town located in the rolling Flint Hills of eastern Kansas surrounded by the famous tall grass prairie. The university offers exciting cultural and sports opportunities while students can enjoy the low cost of living.

Please take your time to peruse our departmental web pages. If you are interested in majoring in physics as an undergraduate or pursuing a graduate degree in physics with us or just want to visit, please contact us at (785) 532-6786 or at graduate@phys.ksu.edu. If you are an alumnus or friend of the Physics department, I would love to hear from you directly; please send me an e-mail at amitc@phys.ksu.edu. You can also find us on Facebook.

Sincerely,

Amit Chakrabarti
William & Joan Porter Professor and Head