Research Areas of the Department

The Physics Department has three flourishing undergraduate research programs. Indeed we are one of the most active undergraduate research programs in the United States. Jim Cottingham and several students are studying musical acoustics with a particular focus on reed instruments. Mario Affatigato and his research students study optical properties of solids. They use several kinds of lasers for this work and a newly acquired laser ablation time of flight mass spectrometer. Steve Feller's group studies Physical properties and atomic arrangements of oxide glasses. In each case, students extensively use research grade equipment, perform experiments over extended time periods, attend and present at meeting (both national and international), author journal papers, and participate in current scientific research.

The First Year Research Experience at Coe

The First Year Research Experience (FYRE) at Coe College offers exceptionally qualified students the opportunity to begin their college careers by doing science. Students selected as FYRE Scholars will work side-by-side with Coe faculty and students on a wide variety of research problems ranging from atmospheric chemistry to forest ecology. FYRE Scholars will be a part of a nationally-recognized undergraduate science program and work with state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation.

Click here to explore the program.