Research Areas
Biophysics:
- B. Foy - modeling of biological processes Dr. Foy joined WSU in 1994 after a PhD in Medical Physics at MIT. His research interests include: developing biologically-based kinetic models of toxin disposition; performing bioinformatic support and modeling for genomics/ proteomics/metabolomics studies; studying diffusion of proteins in cartilage as a possible sensitive indicator of early arthritic decay; using 13C NMR and mathematical models of biochemical reaction pathways to estimate metabolic fluxes. Dr. Foy is currently Director of the Medical Physics program.
- T. Skinner - Computational physics Dr. Skinner obtained his PhD in Physics, applying ultraviolet spectroscopy to the study of the outer planets. He began his professional career at the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics as a member of the ultraviolet spectroscopy team for the Galileo mission to Jupiter (1985-1988). After the space shuttle Challenger accident delayed the Galileo mission for 10 years, he expanded his research into the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. He joined the WSU Physics Department in 1993 and has currently received over $1.4M in funding from NSF, NASA, and NIH. His primary research is the development of advanced NMR and EPR methods for spectroscopy and imaging, with a focus on applications of optimal control theory. He has also received funding for applying percolation theory to groundwater transport, as well as funding for continued research in planetary atmospheres. He has over 50 peer-reviewed articles to date, with an h-index of 16.
- T. Hangartner (adjunct faculty) - AAPM Fellow - medical imaging
Chemical Physics:
- J. Fox (research faculty) - AGU Fellow - physics and chemistry of ionospheres and thermospheres of earth and planets Dr. Fox got her PhD in chemical physics. She joined WSU in 1995 after appointments at various other institutions. She was an Associate Editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research from 1989 to 1992. She researches chemical physics processes in the atmospheres of Mars and Venus (e.g., the chemistry of minor ions and neutrals, airglow and auroras, heating, atmospheric evolution), work primarily funded by NASA. Dr. Fox is a research professor. She was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2005.
- I. Medvedev - molecular spectroscopy, terahertz imaging, chemical sensing Dr. Medvelev joined WSU in 2010. His PhD thesis included the theoretical analysis of the rotational spectra of molecules of astrophysical interest. His research interests lie in the area of experimental atomic and molecular optical physics, with primary focus being the study of high resolution molecular ro-vibrational spectroscopy and its analytical applications. Currently, Dr. Medvedev is working on the development of analytical THz sensors in application to environmental and occupational chemical sensing and intelligence. He has over 30 peer-reviewed articles to date.
- A. Patnaik (research faculty) - atomic, molecular, optical physics
- D. Petkie - molecular spectroscopy, terahertz imaging, chemical sensing Dr. Petkie did his PhD on millimeter and submillimeter studies of atmospheric molecules. His current research interests include molecular spectroscopy, and terahertz imaging and spectroscopy. He has generated over $5M in external funding and has a patent pending. Dr. Petkie joined WSU in 2002. He has a joint appointment with the Department of Electrical Engineering. He also does research on micro-Doppler radar signatures (sensing vital signs and gait) as well as electromagnetic non-Destructive evaluation (NDE) imaging. He is currently the Interim Chair of Physics.
Geophysics:
- N. Gershenzon (research faculty) - geophysics
- A. Hunt - electrical properties of random media; percolation theory Dr. Hunt received his PhD in Condensed Matter Theory and was Fulbright Fellow at Philipps Universitaet Marburg, 1985-1987. He was Hydrologic Sciences program director at NSF 2002-2003 and has been visiting faculty and scientist at a number of institutions before joining WSU in 2004. His current research focuses on transport in porous media. He has given numerous invited talks on that subject at international conferences and recently wrote Percolation Theory for Flow in Porous Media, 2nd ed. (2009) by Springer Verlag. Dr. Hunt has a joint appointment with the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences.
- Sarah Tebbens - scaling phenomena Dr. Tebbens has a PhD in Marine Geology and Geophysics. She was a tenured faculty at the University of South Florida before joining WSU in 2004. Her research involves the nonlinear analysis and modeling of geophysical processes including coastal changes, tsunamis, forest fires, seismology and environmental hazards. Dr. Tebbens has received over $1M in external funding over the years.
Physics Education:
- B. Basista - K-12 physics education Dr. Basista is a physics educator and a STEM Center Fellow. Her PhD was in particle physics but her research now focuses on improving teacher quality at the K-12 level. She has received over $6M in external funding as PI or co-PI. She is Director of the WeEXCEL center in science education at WSU; the center is funded, in part, by the Ohio Board of Regents. Dr. Basista joined WSU in 1995 and works with the Department of Teacher Education.
- E. Rowley - K-12 physics education Dr. Rowley has a PhD in Science Education with an emphasis in Physics. As licensed high-school physics teacher he brings teaching experience to our physics courses for pre-service teachers. His current research interests include use of the Investigative Science Learning Environment in the classroom. He joined WSU as an Instructor in 2009.
- S. Tosa - K-12 physics education Dr. Tosa has a PhD in nuclear physics and a D.Ed. In physics education. Her current research interest is on international comparison of K-12 science education in US and Japan and on the effectiveness of lesson study as a professional development program in elementary mathematics and science. Dr. Tosa joined WSU in 2009. She has a joint appointment with the Department of Teacher Education.
Solid State Physics/Materials Science:
- G. Bambakidis (emeritus) - electrical properties of solids
- E. Brown - APS Fellow, IEEE Fellow - solid state electronics Dr. Brown has worked at the Hughes Aircraft Co. and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and was a program manager for DARPA. Before joining WSU in 2010, he was an EE faculty at UCLA and an ECE professor at UCSB. Dr. Brown is a Fellow of the IEEE and of the American Physical Society. In 1998, he received an Award for Outstanding Achievement from the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is the Ohio Research Scholar in Layered Sensing at WSU and holds a joint appointment with EE. His research includes terahertz solid state electronic devices.
- J. Clark - optical characterization of solids, quantum electronics Dr. Clark has been at WSU since 1984. His research interests include atomic, molecular and optical physics, plasma physics, and quantum electronics. He has recently developed a cathodoluminescence and a photoreflectance set up for studying quantum dots. Dr. Clark has received a number of external contracts in support of his research and an NSF ILI grant in support of his teaching. He currently chairs the Physics Department Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.
- J. Deibel - ultrafast spectroscopy Dr. Deibel got his PhD in applied physics working on ultrafast spectroscopy. He joined WSU in 2007. His current research focuses on the design and application of terahertz (THz) systems, including the finite-element simulation of THz waveguides and metamaterials, and the THz characterization of carbon nanotubes. He has received over $4M in external funding. Dr. Deibel is the faculty advisor to the Society of Physics Students. He has Dissertation Qualified Faculty status in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
- G. Farlow - ion-solid interactions, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, ion implantation, thin films Dr. Farlow works in radiation damage, radiation processing and radiation related analysis techniques in solids. He has analyzed thermodynamic constraints on ion beam mixing involving insulators, analyzed precipitation processes in ion-implanted insulators, developed an analytical technique for Rutherford backscattering analysis of mixed phase layers, and developed low temperature, electron damage techniques for study of GaN and ZnO. He currently chairs the Physics Department Graduate Studies Committee. He has been at WSU since 1985.
- G. Kozlowski - High temperature superconductivity, magnetic properties of materials, metallic nanoparticles. Dr. Kozlowski joined WSU in 1999 after 10 years working in the Materials Directorate at the Air Force Research Lab, Wright-Patterson AFB. His research interests include materials science, magnetism and superconductivity. He has published over 100 papers and has been awarded a couple of patents. Dr. Kozlowski has a PhD from the Polish Academy of Sciences and a DSc from Wroclaw University. He has Dissertation Qualified Faculty status in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
- D. Look (research faculty) - APS Fellow - electrical and optical characterization of semiconductors
Research in solid-state sensor devices involves all aspects of device analysis and design including the basic solid-state physics, optimal sensor geometry and coupling (electromagnetic, thermal, acoustic, etc), noise mechanisms, and readout electronics. Emphasis is placed on high-frequency to infrared devices, with THz sensors as the focus area. Both detectors (e.g., novel pyroelectric materials and capacitor arrays) and sources (e.g., novel ultrafast photoconductive switches and photomixers) are being pursued.
since June 1, 2011
