SSU has its own Asteroid!

Emeritus Prof. Joe Tenn suggested SonomaState as a name for a previously unnamed asteroid that recognizes the work of our Department's Education and Public Outreach group as well as SSU's first small satellite, T-LogoQube. The discoverer of the asteroid, Larry Wasserman from the Lowell Observatory, agreed to submit the name to the International Astronomical Union, the group that is responsible for naming asteroids and other cosmic objects. For more information, click here.

Dr. Jeremy Qualls named SSU's 2017 Excellence in Teaching awardee

With 15+ years of post-graduate academic experience, Dr. Qualls is always looking towards the future. He currently maintains active research in interdisciplinary science. His recent projects include development of a STEM first year experience, a cross school Maker program, and the development of science teaching credentials.

Department Chair:

Dr. Lynn Cominsky Homepage

Finding Us

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Department of Physics and Astronomy
Sonoma State University
1801 East Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA 94928-3609

Phone: (707)664-2119
Fax: (707)664-3378
Email: phys.astro@sonoma.edu

Physics and Astronomy

Physics is the most fundamental of all the scientific disciplines. Ranging from the applied to the abstract, from the infinitesimal to the infinite, and from quarks to the cosmos, the study of physics seeks to explain all the complicated phenomena in the natural world by providing a description of these phenomena in terms of a few basic principles and laws.

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What Physicists Do

Current Schedule. Our lecture series has brought outstanding scientists and engineers to the campus each week since 1971, including fourteen Nobel laureates. These speakers present lectures ranging from the hottest discoveries in physics and astronomy to inside views of physicists' daily lives at a level undergraduate students can understand.

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