Here is a bit of general information about our department. We offer a variety of undergraduate programs that fall within four general areas: physics, astronomy, geosciences, and science education. We also contribute to the college’s Environmental Sciences programs, which include a graduate Masters program. We currently serve around 80-85 undergraduate majors as well as over 2,500 non-major students per year. Our faculty and staff are dedicated to a mission of excellence in teaching, research, and service to the university, the community, and their professions. Two hallmarks of the department are providing meaningful undergraduate research opportunities for majors, and actively embracing the teacher-scholar model for full-time faculty.

Major Programs: Four tracks within the Major in Physics are General Physics, Applied Physics, Astrophysics, and Secondary Education. Two Dual Degree Programs integrate a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Physics with either a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Computer Science from Towson University or a Bachelor of Engineering Degree from the University of Maryland.

The Major in Geology consists of the General Geology and the Environmental Geology tracks.

The Major in Earth-Space Sciences provides a broad survey that is appropriate for leading to teaching certification. This program is approved by the Maryland State Department of Education.

Towson University is unique because it has a significant number of education faculty housed in the science departments. The three Science Education faculty in the Department of Physics, Astronomy & Geosciences teach content and methods courses for elementary and early childhood students, provide in-service workshops for teachers in neighboring counties, and conduct research on the teaching and learning of science.

Facilities: Our in-house facilities are almost too long to list, but some of our major assets include:

• State-of-the-art interactive lecture halls
• Undergraduate laboratories with current computing support


• Professionally staffed electronics and machine shops


• Extensive faculty-student research space


• Nanotechnology Laboratory with Atomic Force and Scanning Tunneling Microscopes


• Materials Research Laboratories incorporating Pulsed Laser Deposition for fabrication of thin films and a Near Field Scanning Optical Microscope


• Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer and a Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer


• Astronomy Laboratory equipped with Sun work stations


• Fluid Inclusion Microthermometry Laboratory


• Astronomical Observatory with a clock driven 14” Cassegrain telescope and CCD camera as well as other 8” Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes


• Eight-meter Spitz Planetarium,


• Geology laboratories with petrographic microscopes, a Class 1000 clean room and laminar flow clean bench, HACH spectrophotometer, and X-ray diffractometer


• On-campus field stations for hydrogeological studies

Opportunities: Our proximity to the Space Telescope Science Institute, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the United States Geological Survey and the Smithsonian Institution provides opportunities for collaboration in research and teaching. In addition, faculty members and students are involved in research projects carried out at the Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in West Virginia, and synchrotron facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. The proximity to Washington allows faculty members to be involved in public policy initiatives and to participate in congressional events.

External funding: Currently, external funding for the active research projects in the department exceeds $181,000. The sources of this funding include the National Science Foundation, the Space Telescope Science Institute (NASA), the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society, Joint Oceanographic Institutes (JOI), and the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC).

Physics Program Review: Recently, the Physics programs in the department were reviewed as a part of Towson University’s normal cycle of program reviews. This included a visit by an external reviewer. Here are some portions of the summary of that review.

“Key program strengths include the department’s emphasis on in-depth undergraduate research, the close association between faculty and students, and the new astrophysics track. In a recent survey, alumni expressed satisfaction with their course experiences and their overall preparation. Recent alumni who benefited from our increased emphasis on undergraduate research give special mention of the experience.”

“Technological fluency: No student can be successful in Physics without a high level of technological proficiency. All laboratories, beginning with General Physics, require use of sophisticated measuring instruments and computer-simulated instruments such as LabView and DataStudio. Many advanced courses, especially in astrophysics, require proficiency in the use of advanced computer workstations (Unix). In addition, all students must take a senior seminar in which they give presentations on their research using PowerPoint and other presentation technologies.”

“Summary of the External Review: The external reviewer concluded that the department and the University should be proud of the Physics program. He lauded the program’s grounding in a tradition of excellent instruction, our attention to individual students, our emphasis on undergraduate research, our decision to establish the astrophysics track, and our many innovations in teaching.”

If you have read this far, then I thank you sincerely and I hope you agree that the Department of Physics, Astronomy & Geosciences is a remarkable place to work, study, learn, and carry out research. If you’re looking for a place to study, please get in touch with us. If you’re looking for a place to donate funds for student scholarships and awards, or to enhance the learning environment at Towson University, then please give me a call right away! We hope to hear from you.

Best regards,
David Schaefer
Professor of Physics and Department Chair