New Name for Physics Department
The Department of Physics has changed its name to the Department of Physics and Astronomy to better reflect its breadth of teaching and faculty expertise.
The new moniker is meant to grab the attention of prospective students who may not realize the department offers training in astrophysics and cosmology. “We’ve had experience with undergraduate and graduate students not digging down past the department name,” said Professor Chris Fassnacht, a cosmologist. “Unfortunately, many students who are interested in astronomy do not realize that it is part of physics, and thus do not consider coming to UC Davis.”
Beyond the classroom, Fassnacht said the department provides outstanding student research opportunities in astronomy, with access to world-class telescopes such as the Lick Observatory in California and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Faculty are also involved in several upcoming facilities: the Rubin Observatory in Chile (Professor Tony Tyson is chief scientist), the Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawaii and the James Webb Space Telescope.
Designating the department as physics and astronomy will help it compete with other highly ranked research universities, all of which have either separate astronomy departments or a department named physics and astronomy, according to the department’s own research. And with three faculty hires in astrophysics in the past five years, “the new name is an exciting reflection of the growth of our department,” Fassnacht said.
Some things will not change, including the department course offerings and their PHY label in the general catalog. And there are no proposals for a new major or graduate degree. The department already offers a Bachelor of Science degree with specialization in astrophysics.
Experts in space, near and far
Another department in the College of Letters and Science added a celestial focus to its name not long ago. The Department of Geology became the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in 2012. There is some overlap between the two fields. Professor Mike Oskin, chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the two departments have shared interests and collaborations in geophysics, extrasolar planets and high energy physics of planetary interiors. Planetary scientists generally focus on solar systems and their objects, such as planets, moons and meteorites. Practitioners of astronomy, a broad field that includes cosmology, set their sights on astronomical objects like stars, galaxies, dark matter, as well as the origin of the universe. While historically there may have been some differentiation between astronomy and astrophysics, most members of the physics community use the two terms interchangeably, Fassnacht said.
— Becky Oskin, content strategist in the UC Davis College of Letters and Science