Nov 21, 2024  
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog

Physics, Atmospheric (ATPH)


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MATTHEW PELTON, Chair
JASON KESTNER, Associate Chair
PENGWANG ZHAI, Graduate Program Director

Degrees Offered

M.S., Ph.D. (Degree Types )

Faculty

Professors

DEMOZ, BELAY, Ph.D., University of Nevada; Atmospheric physics and chemistry, meteorological observations.
GOUGOUSI, THEODOSIA, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh; Dielectric properties of thin films, surface and interface physics, nano-physics.
JOHNSON, ANTHONY, Ph.D., City College of the City University of New York; Non-linear optics, photonics, fast optical phenomena
KESTNER, JASON, Ph.D., University of Michigan; Theoretical physics, semiconductor quantum dots, cold atoms, quantum information
MARTINS, J. VANDERLEI, Ph.D., University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Atmospheric physics, aerosols, clouds, instrument development, in situ and remote sensing
OWEN, BENJAMIN, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
PELTON, MATTHEW, Ph.D. Stanford University; Optical Studies of Nanoscale Physics
PITTMAN, TODD B., Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Quantum optics, quantum information, non-linear optics.
ROUS, PHILIP J., Ph.D., Imperial College of Science and Technology and Medicine, U.K.; Theoretical physics, surfaces, interfaces and nano-structures
SHIH, YANHUA, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Non-linear and quantumoptics, laser physics
ZHANG, ZHIBO, Ph.D., Texas A&M University; Remote Sensing, Cloud Physics, Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation Interactions.

Associate Professors

ATACA, CAN, Ph.D., Bilkent University; computational physics, materials physics, low- dimensional materials.
BARBOSA, HENRIQUE, Ph.D., State University at Campinas, Climate modeling, the interaction of tropical rainforests with the atmosphere
DEFFNER, SEBASTIAN, Ph.D., University of Augsburg; quantum thermodynamics, quantum information theory, theoretical physics.
GEORGANOPOULOS, MARKOS, Ph.D., Boston University, high energy astrophysics, active galactic nuclei, relativistic jets, extragalactic background light.
HENRIKSEN, MARK J., Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; X-ray astronomy, astrophysics.
MEYER, EILEEN, Ph.D., Rice University; Astrophysics. Galaxy formation; HST imaging
ZHAI, PENGWANG, Ph.D., Texas A&M University; Light scattering, radiative transfer, and remote sensing in coupled atmospheric and ocean systems.

Assistant Professors

FOORD, ADI, Ph.D., Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Michigan, high-energy astrophysics.
ROCHA LIMA, ADRIANA, Ph.D., UMBC; Atmospheric Physics
ANZÀ, FABIO, Ph. D., University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, 2018
DIEDERICH, GEOFFREY, Ph.D., University of Denver, 2019

Research Faculty; Professor

STROW, L. LARRABEE, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Infrared molecular spectroscopy, atmospheric physics.

Research Faculty; Associate Professors

Affiliated Faculty: Professors

Affiliated Faculty: Research Associate Professors

DE-SOUZA-MACHADO, SERGIO, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Atmospheric spectroscopy, plasma physics

VARNAI, TAMAS, Ph.D. McGill University, Canada; Cloud heterogeneities.

Affiliated Faculty: Assistant Professors

XU, XIAOGUANG, Ph.D.  University of Nebraska-Lincoln; remote sensing, chemistry modeling of atmospheric aerosols

Program Description

The Department of Physics at UMBC offers a graduate program leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics. The Department is located in the 78,000 sq. ft. Physics building (built in 1999), which contains numerous research and teaching labs, offices, classrooms, a machine shop, and a physics library.

Research in the UMBC Physics Department is centered in 4 main areas: condensed matter physics, quantum optics and quantum information science, astrophysics, and atmospheric physics.  Faculty members are engaged in both theoretical and experimental research in these areas.

Detailed information about UMBC Physics Department research and facilities can be found at www.physics.umbc.edu

Program Admission Requirements

The admission process is competitive, with selections determined by an Admissions Committee comprised of faculty members of the Department of Physics. The number of available admission slots varies from year to year based on faculty and financial resources. Applicants are required to submit undergraduate transcripts, 3 recommendation letters, and a personal statement. GRE scores will not be taken into account in application evaluation.

Financial Assistance

All full-time PhD students are supported by 12-month Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, or Research Fellowships. These include a stipend, tuition coverage, and health benefits.

Course Listing

The courses listed below are Department of Physics courses that are either required for the Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics and/or are specialized courses offered by the department in atmospheric physics. Students also may take other courses offered by the Physics department (see the Physics Ph.D. program entry in this catalog). In addition, relevant courses offered by the departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Statistics and Mechanical Engineering may also be available.

Programs

    Master of ScienceDoctor of Philosophy

    Courses

      Physics

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