Tag: Department of Physics and Astronomy


Multiple Grant Opportunities Aimed at Expanding Physics Education for Future High School Teachers

A new partnership between the College’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and faculty in UA’s College of Education is aimed at improving the training of high school physics teachers in Alabama. The partnership is the result of two funding opportunities: a five-year $8 million Alliance for Physics Excellence Program (APEX) grant from the National Science Foundation and a three-year $300,000 grant from the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC). According to Dr. J.W. Harrell, a professor in the Department of Physics […]

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College Physicist Collaborates with UA Scientists to Seek New Source of Magnetism as World Supply Ebbs

Dr. Patrick LeClair, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and fellow researchers in UA’s Center for Materials for Information Technology (MINT), have been researching alternative materials to produce magnets. Their research is a response to the growing concern in the scientific community that the supply of naturally magnetic materials will not keep up with demand. Magnets are used in nearly all electronic devices such as computers, cellphones, and medical appliances. And although these appliances are in […]

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Astronomer Works to Change Public Perceptions of Science

Astronomy professor Dr. Bill Keel is a man with a mission. He’s heavily involved in the Galaxy Zoo Project, which encourages citizens around the world (with or without scientific experience) to evaluate photos taken by the Hubble Telescope. Galaxy Zoo is unique in that millions of people across the globe are encouraged to examine and even classify millions of galaxies. In 2007, Hanny’s Voorwep (an astronomical oddity roughly the size of the Milky Way) was discovered by novice astronomer Hanny […]

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