Physics and Astronomy | The University of New Mexico

Chair: Richard Rand

An undergraduate education in physics provides a solid foundation for a lifetime of learning in a variety of disciplines, including science, engineering, math, finance, education, law, and medicine. Find out more.

Alumni testimonials: Read success stories from alumni of our department and their reflections on the quality of our programs.

Degree Programs

Undergraduate

Graduate - Physics

Graduate - Optical Science and Engineering

Limited Operations This Summer

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNM has reduced services. Most employees are still working remotely. See President Stokes's statement on our phased return.

The Physics and Astronomy office and building are closed. If you need to speak to anyone, leave a message at 505 277-2616. We will respond as soon as possible.

News from the Chair

Celebrating Class of 2020 Graduates

Congratulations, class of 2020. You did it.

The class of 2020 has seen substantial changes during their time at UNM. Senior Dilys Ruan talks about their journey and where they are going next.

News from the Chair
Caves Elected To National Academy of Sciences

Carlton Caves
Quantum Information Theory research recognized by NAS

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has announced the election of University of New Mexico Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy Carlton Caves as a member. This prestigious honor is one of the highest accorded to scientists and is given in recognition of distinguished and continuing achievement in original research.

Congratulations, Dr. Caves!

See the UNM Newsroom article

See the announcement on the Center for Quantum Information and Control website

News from the Chair
Prof. Acosta Receives Prestigious NSF CAREER Award

Diamond Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Credit: Acosta Lab

Victor Acosta
Professor Victor Acosta has received an NSF CAREER Award for a project entitled "CAREER: Picoliter Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy with Diamond Quantum Sensors". You can read more about his achievement here.

Congratulations, Dr. Acosta!

News from the Chair
Two Faculty and Staff Job Openings at UNM Physics & Astronomy Department
We’re looking for people to fill the following positions:

Advanced Teaching Lab Manager (Sr Research Scientist 2)

Post Doctoral Fellow for the Center for Quantum Information and Control (CQuIC)

Upcoming Events

Colloquium:
Fri 10/23, 3:30PM in 1100, Professor Paul Steinhardt Princeton University, Physics Colloquium
Other Events:
Fri 6/12, 1:00PM in Zoom, Jakob Reichel, Long-lived spin squeezing in a metrologically relevant regime
Mon 6/22, 7:45AM in Multiple rooms, Invited Speakers Tomohiro Yamaji (NEC) Glen Mbeng (SISSA) Kristel Michielsen (Jülich) Jef..., (Cancelled) AQC 2020 - Adiabatic Quantum Computing Conference

Events Quick Links

Current Events

Friday Colloquium

Thesis and Dissertation Defenses

Physics & Astronomy and Interdisciplinary Science building

The Physics and Astronomy department is at 210 Yale Blvd NE as of November 2019

Interactive Astronomy Apps

9 Educational Apps

Written by Kevin Dilts for the Astro 101 Lab, these free interactive javascript apps illustrate common astronomy concepts. Enjoy!