Physics is one of the strongest departments at UWM, with an outstanding reputation in research, and a dedication to teaching excellence. Over the past several years, the department has brought in the largest amount of extramural funding of any academic department on campus. There are currently 19 full time faculty members in the Department who pursue both teaching and research. The department also hosts two faculty who are members of the academic staff, one involved in full time teaching, and another in full-time research. In addition, the department employs ad-hoc lecturers, teaching assistants and graders as needed in a given year.

Members of our research faculty have created programs whose international reputation enhance the visibility of the university as a whole. Our faculty, graduate students, and postdocs do pioneering work in gravitational physics, cosmology, condensed matter physics, optics, biophysics, and medical imaging. Three members of our faculty are Fellows of the American Physical Society (not counting the Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, whose tenure home is also in the department). Thrust areas in gravitational physics include theoretical studies of early-universe cosmology, and the dynamics of rotating neutron stars. A group of four faculty members are concerned with the detection and analysis of gravitational waves as part of the light interferometric gravitational observatory (LIGO) scientific collaboration, and bring in a large fraction of the department's extramural funding. A couple of faculty members perform experimental studies of low temperature physics, superconductivity, and the properties of correlated electron systems. Experimentalists also work in the areas of crystal growth by molecular beam epitaxy and floating zone methods, as well as in techniques of materials characterization by electron microscopy, infrared spectromicroscopy, and electron and x-ray diffraction. In the area of theoretical condensed matter physics, a faculty member (who was formerly head of condensed matter theory at the Brookhaven National Laboratory) does cutting-edge research in electronic structure theory, another is an authority in the field of electromigration, a third is an expert in the theory of unconventional superconductors, and a fourth works in the area of diffraction physics and inverse problems. Two work in the field of experimental modern optics, particularly applications to biology. Our latest faculty hire (this year) works in the interdisciplinary area of the theory of medical imaging, in which area there is considerable local industrial interest (GE Healthcare being the most important local high-tech industry).

Physics faculty are also deeply involved in the integration of teaching and research. This is evidenced by the receipt of an NSF Presidential Faculty Fellowship, five NSF CAREER awards, a Sloan Fellowship, and two Cottrell Scholarships from the Research Corporation by faculty who have joined the Department since 1993. The department was the first site in the state of Wisconsin to host an NSF-sponsored Physics Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program from 2001-2005. During the period from 2003 this was combined with a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program.

Large undergraduate classes are taught by a professor or member of the teaching academic staff. Separate smaller sections, termed discussions, are taught by a graduate teaching assistant. Teaching assistants (TAs) provide help with problem-solving and other needs in a smaller group setting. In addition, a physics tutoring room is open to undergraduates during a large part of the working day. TAs assigned to undergraduate tutoring make themselves available in this room to assist students with their homework, or anything they may have missed during the lecture or the discussion sessions. The Department maintains an undergraduate lounge for physics majors. World class faculty and small classes make this department comparable with the best small private college departments in the country.

We also welcome students to apply for graduate studies leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Details on application procedures may be found in these web pages. This web site describes the department's world-class research programs in areas such as gravitational physics, surface physics, condensed matter physics, laser optics, and biophysics. Members of the department receive major federal research funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S.Department of Energy (DOE), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), amongst other sources. Almost all our graduate students receive stipends as either teaching or research assistants or in the form of fellowships that allow them to be entirely self-supporting.