Departmental Overview

Old Dominion University offers many exciting possibilities for studying physics and astrophysics. The physics department has been able to hire nationally and internationally prominent faculty, taking advantage of Old Dominion's proximity (a half-hour drive) to the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), with its cutting-edge research in nuclear physics, accelerator science, and data science, and the NASA Langley Research Center.

As a result, the Old Dominion University physics department has grown tremendously in the past 30 years, with double the number of faculty, new teaching and laboratory facilities and modernized computer-based undergraduate laboratories. These facilities include a large high-bay lab for development and construction of nuclear and particle physics detectors, several state-of-the art laser and condensed matter labs, the center for accelerator science, and a new planetarium. 

Why is strength in research important to you? The faculty that create new knowledge in a field are in the best position to prepare the curriculum and give guidance to students who are trying to learn what's important in that field. In addition, research outside the classroom can enrich your education enormously. In the Physics Department at Old Dominion, these resources are available, with the added advantage that you will not get lost in the crowd. Most of our upper level undergraduate students are involved in research and have established close collaboration with individual faculty members. The opportunity for intimate involvement in research with world-class faculty is here for any interested student.