The USM Physics Program offers a B.S. in Physics, with four faculty members pursuing research topics in Physics and Astronomy such as Light Scattering, studies of Asteroid Composition and Dynamics, Stellar Classification, Computational Physics, Brownian Motion, and Torsion Pendulum Physics. Many of our graduating seniors have gone on to Ph.D. programs, some have taken jobs in industry. If you're interested in studying the most fundamental of sciences, this is the place to be. If you are interested in going on to graduate school, we encourage you to work hard and pursue work on a research project with one of our faculty members.

Follow

Submissions from 2019

Link

Labjack-controller: Robust and Easy Data Collection with Labjack T-Series DAQs in Python, Benjamin A. Montgomery and Paul Nakroshis PhD

Link

Comparisons of Resistance Training and “Cardio” Exercise Modalities as Countermeasures to Microgravity-Induced Physical Deconditioning: New Perspectives and Lessons Learned From Terrestrial Studies, James Steele PhD, Patroklos Androulakis-Korakakis BSc, Craig Perrin BSc, James P. Fisher PhD, Paulo Gentil, Christopher B. Scott PhD, and André Rosenberger

Link

Practicing Spatial Relationship Skills Using an Asteroid 3-D Tool, Julie Ziffer PhD, William Morse, Tyler Nelson, Paul A. Nakroshis PhD, Benjamin T. Rudnick, Max Brautigam, and Wesley Parker

Submissions from 2016

Link

The Veritas and Themis Asteroid Families: 5–14 µm Spectra with the Spitzer Space Telescope, Zoe A. Landsman PhD, Javier Licandro, Humberto Campins PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Mario de Prá PhD, and Dale P. Cruikshank PhD

Link

Characterization of Surface Heterogeneity among Asteroid Taxonomic Classes according to Sloan Digital Sky Survey Observations, Sunny Pinkham, Julie Ziffer PhD, and Tyler Nelson

Link

The Design and Use of Planetary Science Video Games to Teach Content while Enhancing Spatial Reasoning Skills, Julie Ziffer PhD, Orkhan Nadirli, Benjamin Rudnick, Sunny Pinkham, and Benjamin Montgomery

Submissions from 2015

Link

5-14 µm Spitzer Spectra of Primitive Asteroid Families, Zoe A. Landsman PhD, Javier Licandro, Humberto Campins PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Mario de Prá PhD, and Dale P. Cruikshank PhD

Link

Spatial Reasoning Training Through Light Curves Of Model Asteroids, Julie Ziffer PhD, Paul Nakroshis PhD, Benjamin T. Rudnick, Maxwell J. Brautigam, and Tyler W. Nelson

Submissions from 2014

Link

Flipped Classroom Tech: What it Looks Like and How it Compares to Tech in a Traditional Classroom, Lucile Benedict PhD and Julie Ziffer PhD

Link

Thermal Infrared Observations and Thermophysical Characterization of OSIRIS-REx Target Asteroid (101955) Bennu, Joshua P. Emery PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, K T. Warden née Crane, Carl Hergenrother BSc, Dante Lauretta PhD, Michael J. Drake PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, and Julie Ziffer PhD

Submissions from 2013

Link

An Investigation of the 3-µm Feature in M-Type Asteroids, Zoe A. Landsman PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Kelsey D. Hargrove PhD, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD, Joshua P. Emery PhD, and Julie Ziffer PhD

Submissions from 2012

Link

Spectra of Asteroid Families in Support of Gaia, Humberto Campins PhD, Julia de Leòn PhD, Javier Licandro, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, and David Nesvorny PhD

Link

Thermal and Physical Characterization of the OSIRIS-REx Target Asteroid (101955) 1999 RQ36, Joshua P. Emery PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Carl Hergenrother BSc, K T. Warden nèe Crane, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Dante Lauretta PhD, and Michael J. Drake PhD

Link

5–14 μm Spitzer Spectra of Themis Family Asteroids, Javier Licandro, Kelsey D. Hargrove PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Victor Alí-Lagoa PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, and Andrey Rivkin MSc

Link

Taxonomic Size Frequency Distributions By Dynamical Zone, Amy Murphy, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, and Diane H. Wooden PhD

Link

On Identifying Clusters Within the C-type Asteroids of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Renae D. Poole, Julie Ziffer PhD, and Thomas Harvell

Link

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Primitive Asteroid Families, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Javier Licandro, Matthew E. Walker PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Beth Ellen Clark PhD, Thais Mothe-Diniz PhD, Ellen Howell PhD, and Rohit Deshpande PhD

Link

Color Variation Within Inner-belt Asteroid Families, Julie Ziffer PhD, Thomas Harvell, Humberto Campins PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Javier Licandro, and Yanga R. Fernández PhD

Link

Using Surficial Reflectance Properties to Analyze Carbonaceous-Like Asteroid Subclasses, Julie Ziffer PhD, Ranae D. Poole, and Thomas Harvell

Submissions from 2011

Link

Colors of Asteroid Families, Humberto Campins PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Javier Licandro, and Julia de León PhD

Link

A New Tool for Classifying Small Solar System Objects, Ryan Desfosses, Derick Arel, Matthew E. Walker PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Thomas Harvell, Humberto Campins PhD, and Yanga R. Fernández PhD

Link

Vector Plot of Hemholtz Coil in Earth's Magnetic Field, Cody A. Goolsby-Cole PhD and Paul Nakroshis PhD

Link

A Comparison of Autoclass and Principal Component Analysis as Applied to Asteroid Families, Thomas Harvell, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Derick Arel, Ryan Desfosses, and Mark Reuillard

Link

A Lightcurve and Color Analysis of Asteroid 4709 Ennomos, Thomas Harvell, Julie Ziffer PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Mark Reuillard, and Matthew E. Walker PhD

Link

Long-Term Evolution of the Aerosol Debris Cloud Produced by the 2009 Impact on Jupiter, Agustin Sánchez-Lavega PhD, Glenn S. Orton PhD, Ricardo Hueso PhD, Santiago Perez-Hoyos PhD, Leigh N. Fletcher PhD, Enrique García-Melendo PhD, Josep María Gómez-Forrellad PhD, Imke de Pater PhD, Michael H. Wong PhD, Hedi B. Hammel PhD, Padmavati Yanamandra-Fisher PhD, Amy A. Simon-Miller PhD, Naiara Barrado-Izagirre PhD, Franck Marchis PhD, Olivier Mousis PhD, Jose Luiz Ortiz PhD, Jorge García-Rojas PhD, Massimo Cecconi PhD, John T. Clarke PhD, Keith S. Noll PhD, Santos Pedraz PhD, Anthony Wesley PhD, Paul G. Kalas PhD, Nicholas K. McConnell PhD, William F. Golisch PhD, David M. Griep PhD, P Sears PhD, Eric L. Volquardsen PhD, Vishnu Reddy PhD, Michael M. Shara PhD, Richard P. Binzel PhD, Will Grundy PhD, Joshua P. Emery PhD, Andrew S. Rivkin PhD, Cristina Thomas PhD, David E. Trilling PhD, Karen S. Bjorkman PhD, Adam J. Burgasser PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Takao M. Sato PhD, Yasumasa Kasaba PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, R Mirzoyan, Michael P. Fitzgerald PhD, and Herve Bouy PhD

Link

The Potential of AutoClass as an Asteroidal Data Mining Tool, Matthew E. Walker PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Thomas Harvell, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, and Humberto Campins PhD

Link

WISE Observations of Primitive Asteroid Families, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Javier Licandro, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Marco Delbo PhD, Kelsey D. Hargrove PhD, and Victor Alí-Lagoa PhD

Submissions from 2010

Link

Water Ice and Organics on the Surface of the Asteroid 24 Themis, Humberto Campins PhD, Kelsey D. Hargrove PhD, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD, Ellen Howell PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Javier Licandro, Thais Mothé-Diniz PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, and Julie Ziffer PhD

Link

Spectroscopy of B‐type Asteroids: Subgroups and Meteorite Analogs, Beth Ellen Clark PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, David Nesvorny PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Andrey Rivkin MSc, Takahiro Hiroi PhD, Maria Antonietta Barucci PhD, Marcello Fulchignoni PhD, Richard P. Binzel PhD, Sonia Fornasier PhD, Francesca DeMeo PhD, Maureen E. Ockert-Bell PhD, Javier Licandro, and Thais Monthé-Diniz PhD

PDF

Thermophysical Characterization of Potential Spacecraft Target (101955) 1999 RQ36, Joshua P. Emery PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Carl Hergenrother BSc, Julie Ziffer PhD, Dante Lauretta PhD, Michael J. Drake PhD, and Humberto Campins PhD

Link

First Detection of Water Ice and Organics on an Asteroid: A Possible Link to the Origin of Earth's Water, Kelsey D. Hargrove PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD, Ellen Howell PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Thais Mothé-Diniz PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, and Julie Ziffer PhD

Link

Exploring the Enigma of 4709 Ennomos, Mark Reuillard, Thomas Harvell, Julie Ziffer PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, and Matthew E. Walker PhD

Link

Application of the AutoClass Artificial Intelligence Program to Asteroidal Data, Julie Ziffer PhD, Matthew E. Walker PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Thomas Harvell, and Mark Reuillard

Submissions from 2009

Link

Confirming Water Ice on the Surface of Asteroid 24 Themis, Humberto Campins PhD, Kelsey D. Hargrove PhD, Ellen Howell PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Javier Licandro, Thais Mothé-Diniz PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, and Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD

Link

Albedos of Small Jovian Trojans, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, David Jewitt PhD, and Julie Ziffer PhD

Link

APIRP: The Automated Photometric Data Reduction Package, Ian Hebert, Julie Ziffer PhD, and Matthew E. Walker PhD

Link

Debris Field of the July 19, 2009, Impact in Jupiter and Its Long-term Evolution, Glenn S. Orton PhD, Anthony Wesley PhD, Olivier Mousis PhD, Leigh N. Fletcher PhD, Padmavati Yanamandra-Fisher PhD, Bonnie Fisher PhD, Amy A. Simon-Miller PhD, Zachary Greene, Imke de Pater PhD, Heidi B. Hammel PhD, Nicholas Reshetnikov PhD, E Otto, Samuel Lai PhD, Jonathan Rodgers PhD, Agustin Sánchez-Lavega PhD, Santiago Perez-Hoyos PhD, Ricardo Hueso PhD, William F. Golisch PhD, David M. Griep PhD, P Sears PhD, Michael M. Shara PhD, Leslie A. Young PhD, Will Grundy PhD, Nicholas Moskovitz PhD, Andrew S. Rivkin PhD, Vishnu Reddy PhD, Joshua P. Emery PhD, David E. Trilling PhD, and Julie Ziffer PhD

Link

Rotational Variability of Asteroid 490 Veritas in the Near-Infrared, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Javier Licandro, Matthew E. Walker PhD, and Rohit Deshpande PhD

Submissions from 2008

Link

A Comparative Study of the Themis and Veritas Asteroid Families, Humberto Campins PhD and Julie Ziffer PhD

Link

Infrared Spectra of Comet-Asteroid Transition Object 944 Hidalgo, Kelsey D. Hargrove PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Javier Licandro, Joshua P. Emery PhD, Dale P. Cruikshank PhD, Carl Hergenrother BSc, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD, and Devon Clautice

Link

Principal Component Analysis of Dynamically Distinct D-Type Asteroids, Sanja Nedic PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, and Matthew E. Walker PhD

Link

Evidence for Space Weathering in the Near-Infrared Spectra of Primitive Asteroids, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Ellen Howell PhD, Javier Licandro, Matthew E. Walker PhD, Rohit Deshpande PhD, and Kelsey D. Hargrove PhD

Submissions from 2007

Link

Rotationally Resolved Spitzer Spectra of Comet-Asteroid Transition Object 944 Hidalgo, Humberto Campins PhD, Michael S. P. Kelley PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Javier Licandro, Joshua P. Emery PhD, Dale P. Cruikshank PhD, Carl Hergenrother BSc, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD, and Devon Clautice

Link

The Headlight Effect, Paul Nakroshis PhD

Link

Spectroscopy of the Veritas Family: Toward a Compositional Understanding, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Javier Licandro, Thais Mothé-Diniz PhD, and Kelsey D. Hargrove PhD

Submissions from 2006

Link

Near-Infrared Rotational Variability in Comet-Asteroid Transition Object 944 Hidalgo, Humberto Campins PhD, Javier Licandro, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Carl Hergenrother BSc, Julie Ziffer PhD, Joshua P. Emery PhD, Dale P. Cruikshank PhD, and Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD

PDF

Nuclear Spectra of Comet 162P/Siding Spring (2004 TU12), Humberto Campins PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Javier Licandro, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Julia de León PhD, Thais Mothé-Diniz PhD, and Richard P. Binzel PhD

PDF

Nuclear Spectra of Comet 28P Neujmin 1, Humberto Campins PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Javier Licandro, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Julia de León PhD, Thais Mothé-Diniz PhD, and Richard P. Binzel PhD

Link

Near Infrared Spectra of Two Asteroids with Low Tisserand Invariant, Julie Ziffer PhD, Humberto Campins PhD, Javier Licandro, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, and Schelte J. Bus PhD

Submissions from 2005

Link

Surface Characteristics of Comet-Asteroid Transition Objects 944 Hidalgo and 162P/Siding Spring (2004 TU12), Humberto Campins PhD, Julie Ziffer PhD, Yanga R. Fernández PhD, Joseph L. Hora PhD, Marc Kassis PhD, and Noemí Pinilla-Alonso PhD

Submissions from 2003

Link

Interactions Between Carbon Nanotubes and Biomolecules: Combinatorial Routes to Specific Binding, Lena Lopatuik, Richard H. Smith, Julie Ziffer, Christopher Snyder, Brent A. Little, Ulrich H. Hansmann PhD, and Deron A. Walters PhD

PDF

Measuring Boltzmann's Constant Using Video Microscopy of Brownian Motion, Paul Nakroshis, Matthew Amoroso, Jason Legere, and Christian Smith

Submissions from 2001

Link

Driving Force Fluctuations in a Driven 2D Granular Array, Paul Nakroshis PhD and Christian Smith

Link

Rotational Dynamics of a Driven Two Dimensional Granular Array, Paul Nakroshis PhD and Christian Smith

Submissions from 1994

Link

A Search for a Composition Dependent Gravitational Force, Paul Nakroshis PhD